The following is a release from Community Consolidated District 181:

For the fourth consecutive year, all nine Community Consolidated School District 181 schools have been named Illinois Honor Roll Schools. The list of 2011 Honor Roll Schools recognizes 703 schools in 312 Illinois school districts for making progress toward or maintaining academic excellence.

Clarendon Hills Middle School, Elm, Hinsdale Middle School, Madison, Monroe, Oak, Prospect, The Lane and Walker schools received the Academic Excellence Award, the highest of three designations. In this category, 90 percent or more of elementary students met or exceed state testing standards in reading or mathematics for at least three consecutive years. The list of 2011 Academic Excellence Award Schools includes five high schools, 67 middle schools and 366 elementary and K-8 schools.

Other Illinois Honor Roll award categories are: Spotlight Schools, which are high poverty, high-performing schools, with at least 50 percent low income students and 85 percent of students meeting or exceeding standards; and Academic Improvement Awards, which recognize schools that make significant gains in performance over several years.

“The true measure of a school's success is student achievement. Having all nine of our schools earn the Award of Excellence is a reflection of the excellent teaching and learning that is occurring every day in District 181,” said Superintendent Renée Schuster.

Since the awards program began, District 181 has been a top performer. In 2011, only large school districts had more schools on the list than District 181. These include: City of Chicago (24 of 617 schools recognized), Indian Prairie District 204 (17 of 31 schools recognized), Schaumburg District 54 (13 of 27 schools recognized), Naperville District 203 (10 of 21 schools recognized) and Palatine District 15 (10 of 19 recognized). Districts with nine Academic Excellence schools are Elmhurst Unit District 205 (9 of 13 recognized), and District 181 (9 of 9 schools recognized).

Seven District 181 schools are among only 40 in Illinois to have achieved the Academic Excellence Award for eight consecutive years: Clarendon Hills Middle School, Elm, Madison, Monroe, Oak, Prospect and Walker. The Lane School is one of 38 schools to have achieved the top rank for the past seven years. Hinsdale Middle School is one of 124 schools earning the designation for the fourth time.

“These Honor Roll schools continue to prove that hard work and reform efforts impact student performance. Community members can and should celebrate their local schools’ success,’’ said State Board of Education Chairman Gery J. Chico. “Behind each school’s success is an untold story of extraordinary passion and dedication on behalf of administrators, teachers, parents and students. We commend each school for its commitment to improvement and excellence.”

For a complete listing of Honor Roll Schools, go to www.ilhonorroll.niu.edu. The Illinois State Board of Education developed the Illinois Honor Roll lists in partnership with Northern Illinois University.