Peotone School District Honors Nearly 90 Students for High Achievement on State Exams

Peotone School Board Meeting | November 17, 2025

Article Summary:
The Peotone Board of Education on Monday, November 17, 2025, recognized approximately 90 students from fourth to ninth grade for scoring at the highest proficiency levels on the 2025 Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR).

IAR Recognition Key Points:

• Students received medals for achieving “Above Proficient” scores in English Language Arts, Math, or both subjects.

• The recognition reflects new, recalibrated state benchmarks where a score of “4” is now the highest possible, replacing the previous five-level system.

• Board President Dawn Love noted the number of recognized students has grown significantly from around 30 in the first year to nearly 90 this year.

PEOTONE, IL — The Peotone School District 207-U Board of Education on Monday, November 17, 2025, celebrated the academic achievements of nearly 90 students who earned top marks on the state’s standardized tests last spring.

“It is incredible to see how this recognition has evolved from us being in the library recognizing about 30 students the first year… to tonight recognizing about 90 of our students,” Board President Dawn Love said.

The students, now in grades four through nine, were honored for scoring at the “Above Proficient” level on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR). The state recently recalibrated its scoring system, moving from five performance levels to four, with a score of “4” now being the highest attainable.

Students were called to the stage by grade level to receive medals from Superintendent Brandon Owens and their respective building principals. Honorees were recognized for high achievement in English Language Arts (ELA), Math, or both.

The students recognized were:

Current 4th Graders (for 3rd Grade IAR):

• ELA: Eliana Coleman, Ava Cross, Talia Demeo, Brinlee Hogg, Lilliana Lafever, John Mccaslin, April McNeely, Maximus Norwood, Kyleigh Zillis

• Math: Baker Bolin, Morgan Shanahan, Thomas Slanicky, William Witkus

• ELA & Math: Pabio Botello, Mary Campbell, George Hess

Current 5th Graders (for 4th Grade IAR):

• ELA: Chase Bakken, Alexis Bauer, Samantha Brown, Emma Frausto, Rosalie Jones, Avery Pfotenhauer, Aubrey Pogose, Isabelle Sprecher

• Math: Vincent Cattoni, Dominic Demeo, Brayden Lubert, Calliope Preura

• ELA & Math: Logan Shanahan

Current 6th Graders (for 5th Grade IAR):

• ELA: Sage Burke, Jaden Gallegos, Eden Jeffery, Devyn Leisen, Rosemary Widinski, Jake Avezzano, Ellie Biedron, Phoenix Campus, Natalie McKenna, Mckhalib Robinson, Eleanor Smith, Claire St Onge, Easton Toepper

• Math: Luke Chambers, Paxton Schnelle, Jakob Rodriquez, Jensen Voss

• ELA & Math: Conner Cowger, Violet Dorociak, Samuel Golf, Henry Reus, Olive Clay, Anthony DeMeo, Crosby Kamba

Current 7th Graders (for 6th Grade IAR):

• ELA: Jake Avezzano, Ellie Biedron, Phoenix Campus, Natalie McKenna, Mckhalib Robinson, Eleanor Smith, Claire St Onge, Easton Toepper

• Math: Jakob Rodriquez, Jensen Voss

• ELA & Math: Olive Clay, Anthony DeMeo, Crosby Kamba

Current 8th Graders (for 7th Grade IAR):

• ELA: Madison Asbrand, Elise Campos, Noah Estrada, Zephyr Forsythe, Lilla Gall, Skyler Helsel, Kaitlynn Maze, Leighton Mcinerney, Hailey Mixayvanh, Lily Moe, Addison Mueller, Chesney Palka, Donovan Pape, Reagan Plastiak, Paitlyn Podgorny, Porter Pycz, Kendall Schmeski, Corinne Taylor, Adelynn Udstuen, Jack Zebrowski

• Math: Noah Cameron Postma

• ELA & Math: Kathleen Begley, Keaton Denny, Gianna Krapf, Hayden Schmidt, Olivia Varboncouer, Allison Williams

Current 9th Graders (for 8th Grade IAR):

• ELA: Asher Brandau, Spencer Cann, Eliott Casey, Steven Clark, Itzel Cortes, Bentley Daoud, Jaida DeMoss, Hector Estrada, Melina Fonseca, Charley Isbell, MaKayla Kraft, Patryk Krupa, Austin Oddson, Payton Pape, Hunter Pycz

• Math: Gabriel Rodriguez

• ELA & Math: Gabriella Fry, Walter Slanicky