• Category 1

    Selected in 2018

  • Grades: 1 - 5
    School Setting: urban
    Town Population: 148,400
    Student Enrollment: 243
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 21%
    White/Caucasian: 39%
    Hispanic: 35%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 1%
    Asian: 1%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 3%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:24
    % Reduced Lunch: 100%
    % ELL Learners: 5%
    Founded: 1980
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Wendy Wolgan
  • CONTACT:
    406 Burke Drive
    Joliet, IL 60433
    815-723-0233
    wwolgan@joliet86.org
Eisenhower Academy
Joliet, IL
Our school takes pride in creating globally responsive students.
Describe specific programs in place to ensure that families are involved in the success of your school and students.
The Eisenhower community promotes character accountability by upholding our school’s Four-Way Learning Agreement which outlines principal, teacher, parent, and student expectations and responsibilities. As part of parent responsibilities they attend monthly parent workshops that assist parents in supporting students academically, socially, and emotionally. Themed trainings in Common Core math, reading, and writing practices, and how parents can support social-emotional growth, cope with bullying and peer conflict, and emotional intelligences create a continued learning connection between home and school.

Our Parent Faculty Council (PFC) coordinates the majority of school events by hosting various social events. PFC monthly meetings with staff, principal, and parents discuss and plan ways to improve our school.
Describe the most successful activity your school has initiated to strengthen ties to your community.
Our school takes pride in creating globally responsive students and instill the importance of giving back to the community by participating in monthly community service projects. The majority of these projects evolve through problem-based learning units with students becoming aware of situations and knowing they can make a difference. The projects include collecting school supplies for the needy, making blankets for a local woman’s shelter, food drives for homeless shelters, Operation Care Packages for local veterans, and cards for the elderly at holidays. These projects provide valuable learning opportunities for students to connect to our community and help make a difference.
Describe your philosophy of school change or improvement.
Eisenhower’s leadership recognizes that quality, sustainable change that leads to positive growth in learning outcomes requires collaboration, time, and support. This approach to professional development has led to academic excellence and is exemplified in our teacher-formed writing cohort study. Teachers have met after school, during grade level meeting time, and during professional learning time to engage in a lesson study for writing.

Furthermore, school change happens from building capacity from within and supporting the adult learner in professional growth. Staff thoroughly analyzes a variety data to determine areas for growth and create a professional development plan which includes training, support and coaching, and collaboration both horizontally and vertically among staff. Initiatives are monitored and feedback is ongoing from administrator and building leadership team to assess improvement.
What are your school’s top two goals for the next year?
In connection with Operations and Algebraic Mathematics Domain, students will represent and solve problems with operations; understand and apply properties of operations and relationships between them; identify and explain patterns in arithmetic while solving problems using multi-operations; and write and interpret numeric expressions.

Students will improve understanding of math content standards by focusing on the following in whole and small group and individual instruction: (1) Mathematics Practices (2) Explore and use manipulatives when launching new concepts (3) Provide higher level math tasks utilizing Depth of Knowledge questioning strategies, and (4) Reflect using math journals.
What is the single most important factor in the success of your school that others could replicate?
The single most important factor in the success of our school is the implementation structure for professional development which occurs within a professional learning community model. Within these professional learning communities staff collaborate to determine professional development for areas for improvement by analyzing trends of data. Once staff identify areas for improvement, they look for means to improve depth of knowledge and rigor in their instructional practices related to these achievement standards.

To guide collaboration staff uses a consistent framework for effective teaching and learning. The District Curriculum Framework and State and local assessment data shape Eisenhower’s professional development approach. The framework contains relevant standards-based curriculum, research-based instructional practices, and high expectations for student performance.


Describe the program or initiative that has had the greatest positive effect on student achievement, including closing achievement or opportunity gaps, if applicable.
The initiative that has the greatest positive effect on student achievement at Eisenhower Academy is problem-based learning (PBL). PBL units integrate all core subjects. Engaged learning and rigorous inquiry-based lessons are aligned to the College and Career Readiness Standards to prepare our students to be active citizens. These lessons are differentiated to meet individual learning styles based on formative and summative data.

Problem-based inquiry units in science and social studies are designed to prepare our students to be informed citizens in a democratic society and to develop the skills needed to compete in a global economy. Problem-based inquiry units in social studies focus on questions or issues that are presented to students in a problem that must be researched for solutions. The Common Core Standards for Opinion Writing are taught as part of these units to develop the understanding of a supported argument when presenting solutions.
Explain how ESEA federal funds are used to support your improvement efforts.
ESEA federal funds are used to purchase instructional materials that support our curriculum and standards. Materials are also purchased that support our parent training sessions and home connections. This funding supports a variety of after-school activities and academic assistance for students. Some programs include Hour of Code, S.T.E.M., Glee Club, and Lego Robotics.
Identify the critical professional development activities you use to improve teaching and student learning.
One of the most critical professional development activities staff engages in lesson studies. They collaborate vertically in order to attain grade level alignment in learning outcomes and instructional practices. In order to maintain focus and monitor growth, grade levels write Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-related (SMART) goals and track progress in school growth areas. During the course of lesson studies, ongoing professional development is provided through action research and expert training. Classroom observations and ongoing reflection are key components of professional development. Math, ELA, and technology coaches further support professional growth and improve teaching and student learning.
Describe how data is used to improve student achievement and inform decision making.
Eisenhower uses data to drive instruction and monitor student progress through benchmark testing. This assessment screens students for targeted instruction, measures student growth, and predicts performance on state assessments. Additional assessments identify instructional and independent reading levels of students and document student progress.

In professional learning communities (PLCs) teachers create formative assessments to be used throughout units of study to monitor instruction and target student needs. Teachers use writing prompts before and after each writing unit in order to monitor student growth. Other formative assessments teachers use include unit tests, checklists, student/teacher made rubrics, projects, and exit slips. Other forms of assessments like anecdotal notes, observations, and conferencing ensure that students are meeting grade level expectations.
Describe your school culture and explain changes you’ve taken to improve it.
Esprit de corps can be felt when walking through the doors of Eisenhower Academy. The principal, staff, parents, and students together create a family culture that has resulted in high standards of excellence passed from generation to generation. There is a strong bond of unity among parents and teachers which is the impetus behind the continued prosperity of the school. The Eisenhower community promotes character and accountability by upholding the school’s Four-Way Learning Agreement which outlines principal, teacher, parent, and student expectations and responsibilities.

Changes that have been taken to improve the school culture is strengthening collaborative relationships among staff, students, and parents. Professional learning communities (PLCs) have been fully implemented and are infused throughout the day where teachers participate as action researchers engaged in lesson studies and data analysis to improve instruction and learning for all students.
Stats
  • Category 1

    Selected in 2018

  • Grades: 1 - 5
    School Setting: urban
    Town Population: 148,400
    Student Enrollment: 243
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 21%
    White/Caucasian: 39%
    Hispanic: 35%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 1%
    Asian: 1%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 3%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:24
    % Reduced Lunch: 100%
    % ELL Learners: 5%
    Founded: 1980
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Wendy Wolgan
  • CONTACT:
    406 Burke Drive
    Joliet, IL 60433
    815-723-0233
    wwolgan@joliet86.org