James Avant is located in East St. Louis, Illinois and serves the communities of Washington Park and Caseyville.

We serve a diverse population of students consisting of African Americans, Caucasians, and Hispanics, as well as Special Services students in Kindergarten - 5th grade. We are a school that strives to service the whole student’s needs in our care.  

Please continue to visit our website as we add new information and features to connect with students, staff, teachers, parents, and the community.

PBIS Slime Friday!

Seven lucky students from each classroom that have shown great attributes to the core values of PBIS were invited to Slime Friday.  Students made their very own container of slime! We are looking for more students to slide into the final quarter of school practicing the core values of PBIS. 

3rd Quarter Honor Roll 21-22

High Honors (95% or higher)

Kindergarten: Torrian Taylor, Damari Gomiller, Jason Cobbs, Christina Brown, Ryan Ross, and Aries Eastman.

First Grade: Josiah Bradford, Karli Wilbourn, Tamahje Jones, Emir Fleming, Karli Graham, and Yahir Mendez-Adame.

Second Grade: Mario Lewis, Teyana Barbet, Phoenix Cobbs, Terrance Dooley, and Faith Harkins.

Honors (88%-94%)

Kindergarten: Camila Castillo, Sonia Martinez, Aubrey Avan, Justice Guyton, Treyvon Watson, Ivy Patton, Sean Porter, Harper Kerr, and William Bell.

First Grade: Julian Pointer, McKylee Falconer, Vel'Lijah Robinson, D'Miyah Connors, Royshaun Brown, Jace Felty, Brysen Guyton, and Jesus Tenorio-Ortiz.

Second Grade: Richard Spencer

Third Grade: Anthony Benitez Colon, Ruth Marcos-Alonzo, and Aden Mumphard.

Fifth Grade: Alex Bass, Destiny McDaniels, and Rhylee Witcher.

Painting Party for Perfect Attendance

You read that right! Students with perfect attendance from August through March 11 were invited to a painting party at school.  The students used their creativity to paint a picture as a gift for a loved one.  As you can see, a colorful time was had by all!  Congratulations to our Perfect Attendance Students! Go Thundercats!

MathCON 2022

Every year, the 5th-grade students at James Avant participate in the MathCON competition. MathCON is a nationally-acclaimed nonprofit mathematics organization recognized for its two-part math competition that gives students (public, private, charter, and home-schooled) the opportunity to compete against mathematics students across the United States. We would like to recognize and congratulate the students that scored the top scores at James Avant. Please give a Thundercat Roar to Kyle Hargrove, Zamira Wade, Savannah Miguel Manuel, David Porter, and Lizbeth Perez!

Thundercat Basketball

The Thundercat basketball team had their first home game of the season on March 15 against the Wright Knights. At first glance, the Knights seemed to have an advantage based on the size and height of their players.  However, the Thundercats came with speed and had better accuracy in their shooting to bring home our second win of the season, all the while being supported by the Thundercat Cheerleaders.  A loud Thundercat Roar for the basketball team and cheerleaders!

THUNDERCAT BASKETBALL 

Congratulations on an 8-0 Season!

Way to go Thundercats!

Attendance Celebration 

There were 49 students with perfect attendance for February at James Avant and that called for a Thundercat celebration with games and prizes! On March the 10th, the students with perfect attendance got to take time off and compete in team challenges. Will you be at the next celebration? Come to school every day and you will be invited to the celebration!

Pi Day

Did you know that March the 4th is Pi Day?  Students at our school learned all about Pi! They read books and participated in math activities, played games, and even did some artwork to highlight Pi Day. In addition, the staff members were all given a pie to enjoy! 

Social Worker's Week at James Avant

We had to take the time to celebrate these amazing people during Social Worker's Week! They received tokens of appreciation from various teams in the building. They also received an EMPOWER PACK full of self-care items. We are so glad to have the best Social Workers and SW Interns in the district! Thanks for all you do!

James Avant Celebrated

Special Olympics Respect Week

The Special Olympics Respect Week was held during the week of Feb. 28 through March 4th. Each day, staff and students wore special clothing to school to support the Special Olympics Respect Week. 

James Avant Black History Bowl

This year's Black History Bowl was a great success. We would like to thank all the participants, teachers, and organizers for their hard work!  The fifth-grade champions from today's bowl are Robert Vermeulen and Rylee Witcher. Jack Brown, Alex Bass, Reginald Young, and Naja Yancy were the fifth-grade runner-ups. The fourth-grade champions from today's bowl were Kynnadi Graham and Terra Dooley.  Royale Prince, Walter Vermeulen, and Acori Turner were the fourth-grade runner-ups. 

James Avant Elementary Spot Light Students

Miss Waynetta Dodson, 4th Grade

Let's congratulate this young lady for taking a risk and making it to the top! Miss W. Dodson entered an art contest and was selected as a runner-up in the 3-5 grade division in the 2022 "Survival Through Self Expression" Art contest hosted in partnership with the Illinois State Board of Education.  Her artwork will be displayed in the atrium window of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, 112 N. Sixth St. in Springfield from February 21 through March 21, 2022.  Please give her a Thundercat Roaring Round of Applause! 

Mr. Robert Vermeulen, 5th Grade

Let's congratulate this young man on winning the 2022 Racial Harmony Award.  The Racial Harmony Award recognizes individuals who have promoted goodwill, respect and have sought peaceful ways to resolve differences. Robert is a self-motivated student who always looks at the positive side of things. He is kind and not self-serving at all. He constantly looks for ways to bring his classmates together during work and play. Always a thoughtful mediator. We can count numerous accounts when he has stepped in as an upstanding citizen. Robert is a role model for all students. He was chosen by his classmates to be class vice-president and is an anti-bullying ambassador at the school.  Robert was a student of the month and also chosen to represent the 5th grade in the Spelling Bee and the Black History Bowl. Please give him a Thundercat Roaring Round of Applause!