North Shore Schools are reflecting on their annual Illinois Report Card ratings from the Illinois State Board of Education.

All schools in the Evanston/Skokie School District 65 were rated as either commendable or exemplary with Haven Middle School reaching commendable for the first time since 2020 after being previously rated as under performing in 2022. The district runs 16 schools, all of which were noted as commendable with the exception of Orrington Elementary School reaching exemplary.

Willard Elementary dropped a rating from 2022 from exemplary to commendable.

District 65 did not respond to requests for comment by deadline but a deeper dive into the report is expected sometime this week, according to an email from the district.

Evanston Township High School, the only school in District 202, was rated as commendable, holding strong with the school’s 2022 rating. The ETHS Board of Education has plans to discuss results during the Nov. 13 meeting.

Winnetka School District 36 also saw all five schools ranked as either exemplary or commendable. Crow Island and Hubbard Woods elementary schools along with the Skokie School received exemplary rates. Carleton W. Washburne School and Greeley Elementary School ranked as commendable.

District 36 Superintendent Kelly Tess said the trends in Winnetka are reflective of those happening across the state as schools continue to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are proud to report that our students’ growth last school year continues to rebound as we separate ourselves further from the onset of the pandemic and a necessary shift in instructional delivery,” she wrote in a letter to parents. “We remain in the top performing tier of districts in the state, and look forward to the work ahead that will only help our students to grow and achieve their greatest potential.”

New Trier Township High School was ranked as commendable, dropping from its 2022 exemplary rating. Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Peter Tragos believes the main cause is linked to the chronic absenteeism rate which sat at 31%.

“Our academic performance is very high, highest in the state, so we feel really good about that” Tragos said.

NTHS officials began working to correct absenteeism numbers last year through administrative restructuring, creating an attendance committee to create an attendance handbook and working with both students and parents to encourage attendance. Tragos said the issue has been the focus of the administration for the past year.

“By all of our accounts right now, we’re really reversing that trend,” Tragos said. “Being in school is important. It’s important for us and it’s important for students and families to have students in school.”

A detailed look at the results is expected at the Nov. 13 NTHS Board of Education meeting.

At Wilmette District 39, three of the six schools received exemplary ratings and the other three received commendable designations.

“We are extremely proud of all of our schools,” District 39 spokesman Leo Krause wrote in an email. “The Illinois School Report Card uses a complex formula and we are very pleased with the progress and growth shown by our students. ELA (English/Language Arts) has been an area of focus for us over the last two years and we are proud of the gains made in that area.”

The only difference from last year’s report card was Romona Elementary School, a prekindergarten through fourth school, slipped from exemplary to commendable.

That designation follows Romona being named a National Blue Ribbon School last month by the U.S. Dept. of Education, one of 14 Illinois schools receiving the Exemplary High Performing School accolade.

At Avoca 37, Marie Murphy School, a prekindergarten through eighth grade school maintained its exemplary status from last year. However, Avoca Elementary slipped from an exemplary grade in 2022 to commendable this year.

“We are proud of the progress our staff and students are making on the report card measures since emerging from the pandemic,” Avoca 37 Superintendent Kaine Osburn wrote in an email. “In Reading and Math, we continue to perform in the top 5% of elementary school districts in Illinois. We always examine where we can continue to improve and look forward to doing so with these latest results.”

Osburn said the administration planned for a detailed presentation on the state grades at their Nov. 16 school board meeting.

Avoca 37 serves portions of Wilmette, Northfield, Glenview, Winnetka and unincorporated New Trier Township

At Glencoe District 35, all three schools received commendable grades, the same scores from last year.

Superintendent Catherine Wang did not respond to requests for comment, but the assessments were listed on the agenda for the Nov. 9 school board meeting.

Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.