Welcome to our new Ridgewood Elementary School webpage. I am proud to start my 10th year as the principal at Ridgewood School. We believe that every child is special and deserves the best education possible. Ridgewood School has been recognized by the Illinois State Board of Education for being a "Spotlight School" for 2007-2011. This is an award that is given to schools that have high academic performance on state tests despite having a high incidence of students that live in poverty. Over 80% of our students either meet or exceed state standards on these state tests.
We are very proud to announce that Ridgewood met our AYP (annual yearly progress) goal in 2011. Once again, we will earn that designation of being an Illinois Spotlight School. This is a huge accomplishment since the bar has been raised to a very high level.
How do we do this? We have an excellent teaching and support staff, hard working students, and a generous, supportive parent base. The Ridgewood P.T.A. is a part of this caring network. My challenge to all of the Ridgewood parents is to join P.T.A. this year.
For the 2011-2012 school year, we are looking forward to continuing some of our favorite events and programs: Jog-a-Thon, Family Fiesta, Family Movie Night, Ridgewood Running Club, Walk to School Wednesdays, and so much more. Ridgewood is definitely on board with the district wellness initiatives! We want to continue making fitness fun for our students. We also want to emphasize healthy habits that will last for a lifetime!!!
A big (and exciting) change this year is that all of our elementary students will have art! We are welcoming Ms. Elizabeth Nache as our elementary art teacher for this year. She will be spending Mondays and Tuesdays at Ridgewood.
Finally, we continue our proud partnership with Western Illinois University. W.I.U. students come to Ridgewood to help in our after school programs (Aim High and W.O.W.) and they are in classrooms as pre-student and student teachers.
I invite all parents and community members to stop in and take a look at all of the wonderful things going on at Ridgewood School. We are proud of our accomplishments!
Best wishes for a wonderful school year!
Sheri Coder, Principal
Ridgewood School is a kindergarten through 4th grade elementary with approximately 410 students. We have highly qualified classroom teachers. In addition, Ridgewood School has highly qualified staff members in the following areas: a certified Learning Center Specialist, Title I reading, kindergarten literacy, elementary art, music, physical education, special education, and bilingual education. We do have a full-time counselor and we share a certified nurse with Wells Elementary.
Our students perform at a high level on state mandated tests (ISAT). More information about our student demographics and performance can be found on the Illinois Interactive Report Card:
www.iirc.niu.edu
We have an amazing amount of programs for our students. First, Ridgewood has an after school science enrichment program for our 3rd and 4th graders. W.I.U. students serve as tutors for these hands-on experiences. Second, we have our Ridgewood Running Club for both our fall and spring semesters. This is a chance for students to get fit and find the joy in physical activity. Third, we are a "safe routes" school. We are working with staff, parents, and the city of East Moline to create a more walking friendly environment around the school campus. Walk to School Wednesdays is a part of this initiative. Finally, have wonderful partnerships with Christ United Methodist Church and First Presbyterian Church here in East Moline. Both churches provide tutoring instruction for Ridgewood students. Our programs make Ridgewood School a great place to learn and have fun!
Visit all of the schools at East Moline School District #37
