Announcements |
Tremont Education Foundation Recipient of Two Generous Gifts
Recently the Tremont Education Foundation was named as a benefactor in the estates for Cecil and Betty Paine and Sally and James Pflederer respectively. TEF received a gift of slightly more than $177,000 from the
Paine estate. Cecil and Betty were both
raised during the Great Depression of the 1930's when educational opportunities
were greatly limited. Cecil was forced
to discontinue his formal education at a young age in order to help support his
family. He was the oldest of ten
children born to James and Nellie Paine. Cecil worked as an Operating Engineer
for thirty-six years at R.A. Cullinan retiring in 1980. A number of his siblings graduated from Tremont High Betty was born in Tremont Township and graduated from Tremont High School in 1945. Betty also worked at R.A. Cullinan for nine years before marrying Cecil in 1954 then went to work for Caterpillar before retiring from there in 1985. Cecil and Betty never had any children but loved and helped their siblings in numerous ways. It is the family's impression that Cecil's not being able to complete his formal education and their love for children greatly influenced their decision to support the Tremont Education Foundation in a lasting way. Sally Pflederer was born in Riverside, California, before moving to Illinois and graduating from Illinois State University in 1961. She married James Pflederer in 1970 and spent many years living in Tremont and working as a substitute teacher for Tremont CUSD #702. Sally was a member of the Tremont Baptist Church, Tremont Garden Club, and Spring Lake Women's Club. She was an avid golfer and spent more than thirty-five years raising and showing toy poodles. The estate of Sally and James Pflederer donated more than $21,000 to the Tremont Education Foundation. |
PRESS RELEASE Tremont Community Unit School District # 702 Earns SchoolSearch™ Bright Star™ Award School Districts that Shine in Spite of Low Funding SchoolSearch™ honors eighty-two (82) Illinois School Districts (out of 871 districts) with the Bright Star™ Award of excellence. Among school districts honored for 2008 is Tremont Community Unit School District # 702. The award criteria are based on districts whose students' academic performance ranks in the upper one-third of Illinois school districts, but whose expenditure per pupil ranks in the lower one-fourth of Illinois school districts based on the following criteria (Information Source: 2007 IL School Report Card data-most recent information available at award time): Elementary Criteria 1. The Average Percentage of the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, & 8th Grade ISAT. (Illinois Standards Achievement Test) meets or exceeds percentages of reading and math. The criterion for this factor is at or above 85.88%. The Illinois State District range for this overall average ISAT percentage is 44.11 (lowest)-98.31 (highest) out of a possible range of 0-100. The Illinois State average for this percentage is 78.57. 2. The Average Operating Expenditure Per Pupil. The criterion for this factor is at or below $7,236. The Illinois State range for operating expenditure per pupil is $5,144 (lowest) - $22,050 (highest) and the Illinois State average operating expenditure per pupil is $9,488. Secondary Criteria 1. The ACT Composite Score of All Students Tested. The criterion for this factor is at or above 20.6. The Illinois State District range for the ACT is 13.3 (lowest) - 27.1 (highest) out of a possible range of 1-36. The Illinois State average ACT score is 20.3 and the U.S. average ACT score is 21.2. 2. The Average Operating Expenditure Per Pupil. The criterion for this factor is at or below $7,361. The Illinois State range for operating expenditure per pupil is $5,144 (lowest) - $22,050 (highest) and the Illinois State average operating expenditure per pupil is $9,488. SchoolSearch™ is an educational research and consulting firm that publishes rankings of school systems. SchoolSearch™ provides comparative school district information for corporations, homebuilders, school districts, libraries, real estate professionals, and relocating families - since 1991. |