Blue Ribbon Achieved: Norton Creek Elementary and North High School

District 303’s Norton Creek Elementary and St. Charles North High School have been named 2022 National Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education. They are among 297 schools in the nation to be recognized and just 17 in the state of Illinois.

Norton Creek Principal Tony White and North High School Principal Shanna Lewis discuss how they were notified of the honor, the celebrations that ensued, and how this recognition speaks to the strengths of the District and community as a whole.

“The system that we’ve built here in St. Charles really kind of nurtures this to happen,” said White. “If you just execute the St. Charles playbook while also listening to your staff and listening to your students and listening to your parents and implementing at a pace that makes sense, good things are going to happen.”

“I think the structure of a unit district really lends itself to that,” added Lewis. “We’ve talked a lot this year about the concept of collective responsibility. I think we’re always looking at ways to improve our relationships with the schools that feed in as part of that whole unit system.”