SCHOOL CHARACTERISTICS
Meadowview School is one of three schools in Country Club Hills Illinois School District #160. Meadowview is home to third, fourth, and fifth graders. The average class size is 22.1 students. We value being a community school that welcomes involvement from parents and the school community as a whole.
Meadowview School has a poverty level of 51%, with a minority population of 98.9%. The percentage of low-income students continues to increase by approximately 1% from 50% to 51%. Our school district has experienced an increase in the number of foster children from the Chicagoland area over the past four years. Meadowview has 36 foster children, and of that number, 11 are in Special Education. Our total Special Education population consists of approximately 75 students.
Meadowview School changed its teacher and student composition after the 1999-2000 school year as part of a district-wide reconfiguration. The staff is comprised of thirty-six qualified teachers and twelve paraprofessionals. The average years of teaching experience are 14.75 years compared to 11.61 years for the district. Twenty-four teachers are of the White non-Hispanic ethnicity, and 12 are minority. There are 30 female teachers, and 6 male teachers. Sixty-four percent of the teachers hold a Bachelor's Degree as compared to 60% for the District. Teachers holding a Master's Degree or higher is at a ratio of 36% compared to 40% for the District. There were two teachers working "out-of-field" for the 2003-2004 school year. Early efforts to remedy this situation for the upcoming year have been successful.
Our chronic truancy rate has increased by 0.6% from 0%, while the mobility rate has decreased from 15.9% to 8.0%. The attendance rate was 96.3%, showing a slight decreased of 0.3% when compared to a 96.6% rate from the previous year. The Limited English Proficient rate remained at 0.0%, and we continue to keep the expulsion rate at 0%.
We see our participation in the comprehensive reform model, Ventures, as our leading attribute. This program has been of great benefit to the student population. Ventures provides a school-wide program of professional development, which takes place at Meadowview. The majority of the teaching staff has attended various conferences and workshops concerning educational issues. Our teachers are teaching to state standards with an instructional program that encompasses all disciplines. Technology is incorporated with computer assisted instructional programs in reading, math, science, social studies, and art.
The school has a functioning School Improvement Team. A Teacher Assistance Team serves to provide intervention strategies to colleagues for students who may be posing off-task or "at risk" behaviors and/or problems. We have trained in the PBIS methodology of managing student behavior and will implement the school-wide program this upcoming school year.
All staff members strive to make Meadowview School a positive learning and working environment as shown by their cohesive and caring attitude. We have a model of teamwork within and among the grade levels and excellent support staff. Our teachers have provided instruction in an after-school program geared towards students who, by teachers recommendations and local assessment test results, were found to be deficient in the areas of reading and math, or at risk of failure. Meadowview students were provided with additional support through participation in the Summer Bridges program and several of the teaching staff provide private tutoring to students.
Our challenges are diverse, yet focused. We have a percentage of foster children who, along with our children of traditional families, may have little or no support system outside of the school. Discipline remains a concentrated focus. The enrollments of students who are lacking in basic skill areas present a daily challenge. We have found a need for additional support staff to provide educational opportunities for those students. Our Special Education sub-group is identified as being in need of great change in curriculum and methods of teaching special need students. Transition classrooms are needed, yet the physical space in the school is extremely limited. There is a need for updated government records for financial support. A lack of finances inhibits the ability to attract and keep qualified, experienced teachers and support staff. There is a need to more effectively utilize the services provided through Ventures (CSRM) to inform the staff, students, and parents of the nature and scope of the program to enhance student development, growth and academic achievement.
COMMUNITY CHARACTERISTICS
Country Club Hills is a suburban community located ten miles south of Chicago. According to the 2000 census, the population was 16,282 with a population density of 2,170.9. There was an increase of 5.07% in the population when comparing the 1990 to the 2000 census. The ethnic composition is White 2,246 (13.90%), Black 13,167 (81.43%), Asian 164 (1.01%), Hispanic 2280 (1.73%) and other is 310 (1.92%). We continue to grow, as income is $57,701.00 and the average income per capita is $21,470.00. The average household income is $63,547.00. The median home value is $136,860.00 and the median age of homes is 34.4 years. Home appreciation is 8.9%. Home ownership is at 88.3%, and 8.2% are rental properties. There are 3.6% vacant homes in the city.
Country Club Hill has an unemployment rate of 6.5%, with only a 5.2% possibility of future job growth. The lack of employment opportunities may cause an increase in our school's mobility rate, as parents may move form one community to another seeking employment. The cost of living index is 101.0%.
The violent crime risk index is 5, with 10 being the highest and the property crime index is 4 with 10 being the highest. An increase in crime has caused the District to lose its police liaison. This has had a great impact on the relationship of the students with the police, as they do not view the police as a community helper that is there to serve and protect them.
The population percentage of males living in Country Club Hill is 45.2% and females comprise 54.8%. The median age is 34.4 years with 23% of all households being headed by females in comparison to the average for the state of Illinois, which is about 12.3%. The community's family structure consists of 48.6% who are currently married, 31.5% who are married, 9.5% divorced, 6.0% widowed, 4.4% separated, 25.2% married with no children, 17.4% single and 24.8% single with no children. While the divorce rate is under 10%, the school experiences and has to deal with the affects of divorce upon students, as it impacts them academically, socially, and emotionally. It is noteworthy to recognize that the largest percentage of the family structure remains with married couples, which is encouraging, as it implies that 48.6% of our students are coming from homes with both parents.
The percentage of high school graduates is 89.1%. Those with 2-years of college are 91.1% and 4 years is 15.9%. This is encouraging as it shows that a large majority of the city's population are high school graduates. As a whole, parents have the educational background to be a worthwhile contributor to their child's learning.
The parent and community population has been supportive in the initiatives of the school and in working with the school as parent volunteers, tutors, mentors etc. We have a community coordinator who works with the school, community businesses, and community organizations to provide incentives for some of our academic programs. The Country Club Hills Park District shares its facilities and collaborates with us for various program and activities involving park district members and students. We are participants in the Municipal Centers Christmas with Santa, blood drives, Earth Day, and the Back to School Parade. Our commitment is continued partnership with the community in working to maintain our school as one that is welcoming and nurturing to the needs of students and families of Country Club Hills.