Nowhere in the Illinois State Board of Education’s 2025 Illinois Report Card is student and community engagement measured, but it can play a key role in helping administrators increase the number of freshmen who are on track to graduate in four years or improve a school’s overall rating.

Waukegan High School improved its graduation rate from 79% two years ago to 84% for the past school year, while the percentage of freshmen on track to graduate, although improved, was 15 points lower.

Eduardo Cesario, Waukegan Community Unit School District 60’s deputy superintendent of academic supports and programs, said a good way to figure out the reason behind certain statistics is going to the source.

“Sometimes the best way you can find out is talking to the kids,” Cesario said. “We’re going to d

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