Every school in Forest Park District 91 has earned a Commendable designation, according to the 2025 Illinois Report Card, recently released by the Illinois State Board of Education
“It really is a big deal, and in recent memory this is the first time every District 91 school has earned a Commendable designation at the same time,” said Robert Hubbird, District 91’s interim superintendent.
Last year, only three of D91’s four schools earned the Commendable designation. Those were Betsy Ross Elementary, Garfield Elementary and Forest Park Middle School.
Field-Stevenson was designated last year as Targeted, which meant the state identified a subgroup performance area that needed a formal improvement cycle.
“So 2025 represents a meaningful step forward across all schools,” Hubbird said. “We see it as a milestone that reflects consistent work over multiple years — not a one-year spike.”
Illinois has five summative designations within the statewide school accountability system: Exemplary, Commendable, Targeted, Comprehensive and Intensive. The Illinois Report Card awards schools that rank in the top 10% of the state as Exemplary. The second-highest designation, Commendable, means the school meets or exceeds state targets for student academic growth and achievement and is the largest of the categories. Schools designated as Commendable have strong academic performance, with no underperforming student groups.
Hubbird said school leadership at Field-Stevenson worked hard to increase its designation from Targeted to Commendable, including coherent, aligned curriculum across grade levels.
“We’ve worked hard to ensure instructional materials build intentionally from one grade to the next so students aren’t re-starting or missing key skills as they move through the system,” Hubbird said.
Additionally, he said, an emphasis has been put on professional learning and coaching.
“Our teachers and principals have been deeply committed to using data from classroom work and state assessments to refine instruction quickly — keeping what works and adjusting what doesn’t,” Hubbird said.
Social-emotional learning, a positive school climate, and strong family partnerships have also been prioritized at Field Stevenson.
“In short, we didn’t chase a label,” Hubbird said. “We chased better teaching and learning every day, and this recognition followed.”
In terms of this year’s report card, Hubbird said that celebration and improvement can coexist. While D91’s math scores have improved, further progress in that area remains essential. He also emphasized the importance of consistent attendance. Although the district’s chronic absenteeism rate has decreased, Hubbird emphasized that there is still substantial room for growth.
“You can see our percentage has been going down for the past couple years but 20% is still way too high,” Hubbird said. “The state average is 25%. We are below that, but we would like to get that number even lower.”
In order to improve attendance, D91 schools are currently focused on early and supportive outreach.
“Each school tracks absences in real time and reaches out quickly when patterns start — not to punish, but to understand barriers and help solve them,” Hubbird said. “We’re consistently reinforcing that attendance is about opportunity, not compliance. Students need to feel missed and wanted when they’re gone.”
In an effort to decrease chronic absenteeism, the district is also focused on removing practical barriers for families.
“When transportation, housing instability, or other logistics get in the way, we connect families to resources and problem-solve with community partners,” Hubbird said.
Hubbird noted that each D91 school earning a Commendable designation is a testament to the hard work of the students and the dedication of the staff but emphasized that it is not a finish line.
“We want to keep strengthening instruction, enrichment, and student supports so this level of performance is stable and rising,” he said.
