Saint Andrew School Academics

Admission Standards

Saint Andrew School subscribes to the new Illinois Learning Standards and the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Schools. The Illinois Learning Standards (ILS) define what all students in all Illinois accredited schools should know and be able to do in the seven core areas as a result of their elementary and secondary schooling. The purpose of these new, more rigorous standards are to better prepare students for college and the workforce. The National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Schools are offered as school effectiveness standards rather than curriculum content standards, although they support curriculum development consistent with national standards and the Common Core State Standards. 

They provide benchmarks to determine how well a school is fulfilling its obligation to those who benefit from its services (e.g. students, parents/guardians and families, faculty and staff), to donors and contributors, to the Church, and to civil society. Catholic schools and sponsors are encouraged to commit to the defining characteristics and performance benchmarks of the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Elementary and Secondary Schools and to work toward implementing the principles and practices outlined here within the context of their own culture and community.

Accreditation

Saint Andrew School is recognized and accredited by the Illinois State Board of Education and the Diocese of Belleville.
 
Illinois State Board of Education(ISBE) defines a recognized school as being registered with ISBE for at least one school year, the school has filed an extensive application dealing with school policies, curricula, personnel, and student health and safety. In addition, the school has been visited by a small team to confirm this information; the school is revisited by a team every few years. Fundamentally, a recognized school is a school acknowledged to be in substantial compliance with various requirements of state statute and regulation.

It should be noted that recognition (a matter of compliance) is different from accreditation (a judgment about the quality of instruction). Accreditation involves an intensive examination of some or all of a school’s curricula, the qualifications of its staff, the appropriateness of its library holdings, etc.

ISBE does not accredit any school—accreditation is accomplished through independent third parties. A school may be accredited simultaneously by more than one accrediting body at the same time.

Grading Scale

A Excellent Progress/Work 93-100                     
G Good Progress for non-graded subject
B Above Average Progress/Work 86-92             
S Satisfactory Progress for non graded subject
C Satisfactory Progress/Work 78-85                  
N Needs Improvement/Unsatisfactory
D Below Average Progress/Work 70-77              
I Incomplete
F Failing Work Below 70                                 
N/A Not Applicable

Honors: Consistent with the mission of Saint Andrew School to educate the whole child through faculty commitment and family involvement, academic excellence is recognized through the following Honor Roll Policy.

Qualifications for Honor Roll:
Honors applies for grades 5-8 only
High Honors………………average of 3.8 and up
Honors………………….....average of 3.5 – 3.7
​
Average taken from 4.0 system

Pre-K

Pre-K is often the first experience children have for formal learning and creative experiences.  We are excited to have a part in this.  We will strive to meet the various needs of each child.  Learning activities will provide opportunities for developing fine motor, gross motor, language, cognitive, socialization, and self-help skills.

Children enrolled in our classroom have the option to enroll full or part time.  Arrival and dismissal times will be strictly adhered to.  Arrival times will be 7:30 – 8:15 a.m.  Part-time days run from 8:15 – 12 p.m., or Full-Time from 8:15 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.  Part time can either be mornings every day or three days a week.

Physical Education

Saint Andrew School utilizes an equipped gymnasium and outdoor playground for encouraging physical development of our students.   Our students develop motor control, balance, coordination, spatial relations, and more through a variety of unit lessons.
 
Comprehensive physical development offers great potential for enhancing the capacity of students' minds and bodies.  The goals and standards for physical development foster a variety of skills such as following directions, working cooperatively with others, problem solving, communication, decision making and team-building just to name a few.

Scores

Each year our students take the Iowa Assessment.  This assessment, student ability and teacher observation guide the instruction to meet the needs of the students.  It is one of the tools we use to monitor the progress that students are making.  A large percentage of  Saint Andrew School students score higher than national and local school averages in all subjects.   Research shows that because of a greater emphasis on parent involvement, homework, organizational and study skills, students tend to develop more effective self-discipline which leads to improved academic performance. 

We are very proud of our students and we believe their scores reflect the excellent quality of instruction offered at Saint Andrew School. For more information about test scores, or if you have any questions, please contact our school principal at (618) 687-2013.

Spanish Program

The Spanish Program is a core subject for grades 6th - 8th and an enrichment program for Pre-K through 5th grade. Spanish instruction allows our students the added opportunity of learning the Spanish culture and language.

Resource

Every child is unique. Every child learns differently and behaves differently. Some children need different educational experiences for success than others. In order to monitor the needs of all our students, we have implemented AIMSWeb assessments and STAR assessments.  These assessments help us to identify students that may be falling behind their peers.  Interventions are designed to meet the needs of the student.  Here are some examples of the interventions we initiate.

• Classroom teachers may use additional strategies and materials for students to gain skills or knowledge.
• Classroom teacher/Resource teacher may work with students in small groups or one on one to gain skills or knowledge.
• Resource teacher may work with student in a small group or one on one in a separate environment for the student to build skills or knowledge
• Tri-County Special Education may be asked to do an evaluation to better understand the needs of the student.

Questions?