McCall Parent Newsletter

We sincerely appreciate you taking the time to meet with your child’s teacher and for your continued partnership and commitment to their academic success.

During your conference, you should have received your child’s Report Card along with their NWEA MAP scores or Amplify DIBELS/Lectura assessment results. These important resources provide valuable insight into your child’s academic progress, highlight areas of strength, and help us identify goals for continued growth and achievement.

We also want to ensure that every family is connected with their child’s teacher through "Rooms/ Apptegy. This is an important communication tool where you will receive classroom updates, important reminders, announcements, and opportunities to stay connected and engaged in your child’s learning.

Thank you for your partnership, your involvement, and your continued support. Together, we are building a brighter future for every McCall Aviator!

Together We Succeed, With Integrity!

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) today released the annual Illinois School Report Card, providing families and communities across the state with an overview of student achievement and school performance. This year's Report Card reflects data from the 2025-2026 school year and can be viewed at McCall School Report Card.

The Report Card provides an opportunity to celebrate our school's accomplishments, reflect on the progress we're making, and identify areas where we can continue to improve. This year's Report Card also introduces a new statewide system for evaluating schools and assigning performance designations.

As we review our school's results, there are several accomplishments we're particularly proud of:

• We provide a rigorous daily curriculum and strong enrichment opportunities for all students

• McCall is Waukegan’s first and ONLY National Blue Ribbon School in the program’s 44-year history and was named a Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence Lighthouse School in Fall 2023

• McCall’s K–5 teachers implement effective instructional practices that promote academic excellence and contribute to our school’s continued success and achievements

These accomplishments reflect the hard work of H. R. McCall students and staff, along with the continued support of our families. We are encouraged by the progress we're making and remain committed to building on these successes.

Understanding Our School's Designation

Beginning this year, Illinois introduced a new accountability framework called Profiles of Performance. Rather than primarily comparing schools to one another, this system evaluates schools against established statewide performance expectations. The new system considers multiple measures, including academic achievement, student growth, attendance, graduation rates, where applicable, and school climate.

Schools receive one of five designations: Exemplary, Approaching Exemplary, Commendable, Developing, or Comprehensive.

H. R. McCall received an Approaching Exemplary schools designation for the 2025-2026 school year.

An Approaching Exemplary designation recognizes schools demonstrating strong performance across the state's established expectations, with results approaching the highest performance level.

Because Illinois has changed how designations are determined, comparisons with previous years should be made carefully. A change in designation does not necessarily mean a school's academic performance improved or declined by the same degree.

We will continue using the information in this year's Report Card to strengthen instruction, support our students, and identify areas where additional attention and resources are needed.

Our Report Card offers a valuable opportunity to both celebrate our successes and assess areas for growth. At H.R. McCall, we believe every student has the potential to meet high standards, and by working together as a community, we can accomplish even more.

November 3, 2026 - NO SCHOOL

November 4, 2026 - LATE START

November 11, 2026 - Veterans Day - NO SCHOOL / District Closed

November 25 - 29, 2026 - Thanksgiving Recess - NO SCHOOL / District Closed

As the weather begins to shift, please ensure your child comes to school dressed appropriately each day. Students will have outdoor recess when the temperature, including the wind chill factor, is 20 degrees or higher. If the temperature falls below 20 degrees, including the wind chill, recess will be held indoors.