STANFORD, Ill. — All five schools in Olympia Community Unit School District 16 earned one of the top two performance levels under Illinois' school accountability system, according to designations published by the Illinois State Board of Education.
The Illinois Report Card, released every October, designated Olympia North Elementary and Olympia West Elementary as Exemplary, the state's highest performance level. Olympia High School, Olympia Middle School and Olympia South Elementary were designated Approaching Exemplary, the second-highest.
"These designations reflect the effort and dedication that has been put towards improving how our students learn and engage with each other,” said Dr. Laura O’Donnell, Superintendent. “It’s a testament to what our teachers and students do every day, and we are proud of the result.”
Illinois assigns every public school an annual performance level based on a set of core indicators. For elementary and middle schools, those are student proficiency and academic growth. High schools are measured on those two factors as well as graduation rate.
The state utilizes those core indicators as a baseline to understand what students know and can do, how much they have grown over time, how many are graduating, and what student engagement and learning conditions are like.
A school's profile can also be raised by factors that include student attendance, English learner progress, and participation in the state climate survey.
Illinois redesigned its performance accountability system for the 2026-27 school year, establishing five levels of performance: Exemplary, Approaching Exemplary, Commendable, Developing and Comprehensive. A sixth level, Automatic Comprehensive, applies to schools performing in the lowest three to five percent statewide.
The Illinois State Board of Education approved this new system in spring 2026 following input from educators and community members.
Olympia celebrates these designations, and will use the profiles to identify the areas that still need attention.
“We have made intentional choices about where to put our energy,” said Dr. O’Donnell. “We are focused on foundational reading in the early grades, more structured and rigorous math across the district, and we are consistently measuring progress. The designations show that our staff is committed to this work and committed to growing our students.”
The full Illinois Report Card is available to read now.