2011 - Blue Ribbon Schools Program
A Private School
School Type (Public Schools):
(Check all that apply, if any) /
Charter /
Title 1 /
Magnet /
Choice
Name of Principal: Sister Carolyn Sieg, O.S.B.
Official School Name: St. Joan of Arc School
School Mailing Address: / 4913 Columbia AvenueLisle, IL 60532-3503
County: DuPage / State School Code Number: 19022024x10
Telephone: (630) 969-1732 / E-mail:
Fax: (630) 353-4590 / Web URL: www.sjalisle.org
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2 (Part I - Eligibility Certification), and certify that to the best of my knowledge all information is accurate.
______Date ______
(Principal’s Signature)
Name of Superintendent*: Reverend John Belmonte Superintendent e-mail:
District Name: Diocese of Joliet District Phone: (815) 725-1527
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2 (Part I - Eligibility Certification), and certify that to the best of my knowledge it is accurate.
______Date ______
(Superintendent’s Signature)
Name of School Board President/Chairperson: Mrs. Mara Cooney
I have reviewed the information in this application, including the eligibility requirements on page 2 (Part I - Eligibility Certification), and certify that to the best of my knowledge it is accurate.
______Date ______
(School Board President’s/Chairperson’s Signature)
*Private Schools: If the information requested is not applicable, write N/A in the space.
The original signed cover sheet only should be converted to a PDF file and emailed to Aba Kumi, Blue Ribbon Schools Project Manager () or mailed by expedited mail or a courier mail service (such as Express Mail, FedEx or UPS) to Aba Kumi, Director, Blue Ribbon Schools Program, Office of Communications and Outreach, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., SW, Room 5E103, Washington, DC 20202-8173.
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PART I - ELIGIBILITY CERTIFICATION / 11PV119The signatures on the first page of this application certify that each of the statements below concerning the school’s eligibility and compliance with U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) requirements is true and correct.
1. The school has some configuration that includes one or more of grades K-12. (Schools on the same campus with one principal, even K-12 schools, must apply as an entire school.)
2. The school has made adequate yearly progress each year for the past two years and has not been identified by the state as "persistently dangerous" within the last two years.
3. To meet final eligibility, the school must meet the state's Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirement in the 2010-2011 school year. AYP must be certified by the state and all appeals resolved at least two weeks before the awards ceremony for the school to receive the award.
4. If the school includes grades 7 or higher, the school must have foreign language as a part of its curriculum and a significant number of students in grades 7 and higher must take the course.
5. The school has been in existence for five full years, that is, from at least September 2005.
6. The nominated school has not received the Blue Ribbon Schools award in the past five years: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 or 2010.
7. The nominated school or district is not refusing OCR access to information necessary to investigate a civil rights complaint or to conduct a district-wide compliance review.
8. OCR has not issued a violation letter of findings to the school district concluding that the nominated school or the district as a whole has violated one or more of the civil rights statutes. A violation letter of findings will not be considered outstanding if OCR has accepted a corrective action plan from the district to remedy the violation.
9. The U.S. Department of Justice does not have a pending suit alleging that the nominated school or the school district as a whole has violated one or more of the civil rights statutes or the Constitution’s equal protection clause.
10. There are no findings of violations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in a U.S. Department of Education monitoring report that apply to the school or school district in question; or if there are such findings, the state or district has corrected, or agreed to correct, the findings.
PART II - DEMOGRAPHIC DATA / 11PV119All data are the most recent year available.
DISTRICT
Questions 1 and 2 are for Public Schools only.SCHOOL (To be completed by all schools)
3. / Category that best describes the area where the school is located: / Suburban4. / Number of years the principal has been in her/his position at this school: / 43
5. / Number of students as of October 1, 2010 enrolled at each grade level or its equivalent in applying school:
Grade / # of Males / # of Females / Grade Total / # of Males / # of Females / Grade Total
PreK / 24 / 12 / 36 / 6 / 33 / 31 / 64
K / 22 / 25 / 47 / 7 / 28 / 32 / 60
1 / 27 / 32 / 59 / 8 / 32 / 44 / 76
2 / 25 / 39 / 64 / 9 / 0 / 0 / 0
3 / 27 / 34 / 61 / 10 / 0 / 0 / 0
4 / 25 / 34 / 59 / 11 / 0 / 0 / 0
5 / 28 / 37 / 65 / 12 / 0 / 0 / 0
Total in Applying School: / 591
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6. / Racial/ethnic composition of the school: / 0 / % American Indian or Alaska Native5 / % Asian
1 / % Black or African American
3 / % Hispanic or Latino
1 / % Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
86 / % White
4 / % Two or more races
100 / % Total
Only the seven standard categories should be used in reporting the racial/ethnic composition of your school. The final Guidance on Maintaining, Collecting, and Reporting Racial and Ethnic data to the U.S. Department of Education published in the October 19, 2007 Federal Register provides definitions for each of the seven categories.
7. / Student turnover, or mobility rate, during the 2009-2010 school year: / 1%This rate is calculated using the grid below. The answer to (6) is the mobility rate.
(1) / Number of students who transferred to the school after October 1, 2009 until the end of the school year. / 7
(2) / Number of students who transferred from the school after October 1, 2009 until the end of the school year. / 2
(3) / Total of all transferred students [sum of rows (1) and (2)]. / 9
(4) / Total number of students in the school as of October 1, 2009 / 639
(5) / Total transferred students in row (3)
divided by total students in row (4). / 0.01
(6) / Amount in row (5) multiplied by 100. / 1
8. / Percent limited English proficient students in the school: / 0%
Total number of limited English proficient students in the school: / 0
Number of languages represented, not including English: / 0
Specify languages:
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9. / Percent of students eligible for free/reduced-priced meals: / 2%Total number of students who qualify: / 11
If this method does not produce an accurate estimate of the percentage of students from low-income families, or the school does not participate in the free and reduced-priced school meals program, supply an accurate estimate and explain how the school calculated this estimate.
10. / Percent of students receiving special education services: / 5%
Total number of students served: / 29
Indicate below the number of students with disabilities according to conditions designated in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Do not add additional categories.
0 / Autism / 1 / Orthopedic Impairment
0 / Deafness / 1 / Other Health Impaired
0 / Deaf-Blindness / 4 / Specific Learning Disability
0 / Emotional Disturbance / 2 / Speech or Language Impairment
0 / Hearing Impairment / 0 / Traumatic Brain Injury
0 / Mental Retardation / 0 / Visual Impairment Including Blindness
0 / Multiple Disabilities / 0 / Developmentally Delayed
11. / Indicate number of full-time and part-time staff members in each of the categories below:
Number of Staff
Full-Time / Part-Time
Administrator(s) / 2 / 1
Classroom teachers / 22 / 1
Special resource teachers/specialists / 1 / 6
Paraprofessionals / 3 / 11
Support staff / 4 / 0
Total number / 32 / 19
12. / Average school student-classroom teacher ratio, that is, the number of students in the school divided by the Full Time Equivalent of classroom teachers, e.g., 22:1: / 25:1
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13. / Show the attendance patterns of teachers and students as a percentage. Only high schools need to supply graduation rates. Briefly explain in the Notes section any student or teacher attendance rates under 95% and teacher turnover rates over 12% and fluctuations in graduation rates.2009-2010 / 2008-2009 / 2007-2008 / 2006-2007 / 2005-2006
Daily student attendance / 97% / 96% / 97% / 98% / 96%
Daily teacher attendance / 97% / 98% / 98% / 98% / 97%
Teacher turnover rate / 2% / 3% / 3% / 2% / 5%
High school graduation rate / % / % / % / % / %
If these data are not available, explain and provide reasonable estimates.
14. / For schools ending in grade 12 (high schools): Show what the students who graduated in Spring 2010 are doing as of Fall 2010.
Graduating class size:
Enrolled in a 4-year college or university / %
Enrolled in a community college / %
Enrolled in vocational training / %
Found employment / %
Military service / %
Other / %
Total / 0 / %
PART III - SUMMARY / 11PV119
St. Joan of Arc School is located in Lisle, Illinois, about 30 miles west of Chicago.Founded in 1927 as a parish school, SJA continues to draw a majority of its students from parish families. The school has strong parish support to create a family-oriented school community. It is not unusual for alumni to return to the area to enroll their children as members of the SJA family.
The school’s mission is to provide students with a firm foundation in the Catholic faith as they grow to become responsible individuals, fully aware of and capable of fulfilling their roles in society as Catholic adults.
St. Joan of Arc values both tradition and innovation with a motto of “Tradition with Vision.” A member of the Joliet Diocesan School System, SJA has a fully accredited, comprehensive and challenging curriculum from pre-school to 8th grade.Morning and afternoon extended care includes a MindBlast enrichment program offering activities for nurturing creativity.Junior high students are challenged in exploratory classes such as nutrition, fitness, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, media literacy, etiquette, team building, and cultural diversity.
The philosophy of the St. Joan of Arc staff is to embrace the whole student academically, emotionally and socially, and to affirm the uniqueness and dignity of each student.Religion classes provide a foundation for Christian living with parents as faith partners in their children's faith formation.The staff strives to be life-long learners, always seeking new ideas to enhance learning and create a Christ-centered environment.
Moving into the 21st century, teachers are committed to designing lesson plans that include critical thinking, analysis, team building and technology to focus on higher level thinking skills in core subjects.Yearly tests designate SJA as placing in the top 10% in the Joliet Diocese.Most of the students are admitted to Catholic high schools of their choice. Many test into high school honors classes. Three former SJA students were chosen as their high school valedictorian this past May.
In1985, President Ronald Reagan and the U.S. Department of Education recognized St. Joan of Arc School as a model of excellence.
Demonstrating their strong character and leadership skills, junior high students responded to the 9/11 attacks by planning a teen-directed ceremony at Lisle Village Hall. Wishing to give teens a forum for continued character-building opportunities, the mayor and village board enthusiastically agreed to inaugurate the Character Counts program in all Lisle schools. The SJA Character Counts program includes enrichment classes in the pivotal 5th and 7th grades.
St. Joan of Arc’s partnership with Benedictine University (BU) Education Department has taken a huge step forward this year.BU education and graduate students come four times a week to grades K-5 to work alongside aides in small group or one-on-one instruction. BU students have reported that such extra student contact has helped immeasurably as they moved into their student teaching experience.
Traditions abound at SJA from an all-school end-of-year picnic to annual class field trips. One annual tradition is a 7th grade social studies trip to Cantigny Memorial Park to witness the naturalization ceremony.At the conclusion of the event, students present their hand-written congratulation cards to each new citizen.Other traditions anticipated each year are the 8th graders’ presentation of the Living Stations of the Cross during Lent,the May Crowning, and All Saints’ Day Liturgy, where 1st graders, dressed as their favorite saints, give a short speech. A special school event to raise money for the Adopt-a-Student fund occurs during Catholic Schools Week.A highly anticipated fund raiser is an annual basketball game in which the 8th graders challenge members of the Lisle Police Department.