Learn John Kathy Schreiber Chrtr, Waukegan IL

Original Research by School Decision on Learn John Kathy Schreiber Chrtr

LEARN John and Kathy Schreiber Charter is a K–8 charter school in Waukegan serving a student body that is predominantly Hispanic with smaller populations of Black and white students. The school operates as a single-campus charter district with a college-preparatory, bilingual instructional model.

The most recent state assessment data shows mixed performance across grades and subjects. In English language arts, the school shows stronger performance in the middle and upper grades—fifth through eighth graders achieve well above half proficiency—but significantly lower results in fourth grade. Math proficiency is lower across the board, with third grade performing near half proficiency but fourth, sixth, and eighth grades falling well below that threshold. Fifth and seventh grades show modest recovery in math. Science results at fifth and eighth grades fall in the low-to-mid range. The assessment data reflects variation by grade that a parent might want to explore directly with the school, as performance dips noticeably in fourth grade across both subjects and again in the upper middle grades for math.

The school's state designation matters here: in 2022 LEARN was named Exemplary by the Illinois State Board of Education, a distinction it held as the only charter elementary school in Illinois and the only non-selective school in Waukegan to receive that ranking at the time. That recognition reflected pandemic recovery as well as academic standing, though current proficiency numbers suggest the school is working to sustain and build on that foundation.

The Schreiber family's 2023 capital investment and the school's subsequent renaming signal institutional stability and family confidence in the program. The investment was framed publicly as securing long-term access to a college-prep, bilingual education for Lake County families, a commitment that addresses one of the primary risks families consider when choosing a charter school.

Waukegan itself is a mid-sized industrial port city on Lake Michigan with a historic downtown core, lakefront civic anchors, and a concentration of manufacturing and healthcare employment. Housing values are below the state benchmark, and the area is home to major employers including Abbott Laboratories and Naval Station Great Lakes. The city has been pursuing downtown and lakefront revitalization over the past decade, with mixed-use development and affordable housing initiatives underway.

The school serves a neighborhood base; enrollment is small for its grade band, with modest numbers per grade. The absence of free-or-reduced-price-lunch data, special education enrollment, and English learner data from the available records means a parent would benefit from requesting that information directly from the school to understand the full profile of academic support and specialized services available.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 352%

School 52% · District 52%

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 416%

School 16% · District 16%

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

Grade 538%

School 38% · District 38%

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 624%

School 24% · District 24%

even with state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 741%

School 41% · District 41%

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 826%

School 26% · District 26%

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 367%

School 67% · District 67%

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 421%

School 21% · District 21%

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 35 pts below county median

Grade 583%

School 83% · District 83%

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Grade 655%

School 55% · District 55%

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 770%

School 70% · District 70%

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 872%

School 72% · District 72%

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Science

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 42%

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 835%

School 35% · District 35%

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

This schoolLEARN John and Kathy Schreiber Ch, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.