District 88 Student Success Coordinator earns Junior Achievement of Chicago 2026 Above & Beyond Award

On Sept. 22, District 88 Student Success Coordinator Dr. VaLarie Humphrey was honored during the Junior Achievement of Chicago (JA)’s Annual Meeting and Luncheon.

Humphrey was recognized by JA with the 2026 Above & Beyond Award for partnering the organization with District 88’s Beyond B.O.S.S. Community to strengthen the financial confidence and readiness of Addison Trail and Willowbrook students. The Beyond B.O.S.S. Community engages Black students and their parents/guardians in meaningful programs and events that celebrate identity, build leadership and strengthen connections. The group’s mission is to educate, expose, empower and prepare Black students for success beyond high school. According to https://jausa.ja.org, JA “helps young people discover what’s possible in their lives … by helping them connect what they learn in school with life outside the classroom.”

To watch the presentation, click on the video above. To view a photo gallery from the event, see the images below.

The collaboration between District 88 and JA is composed of four key programs.

1. JA Town Budgeting Experience: Through this program, Beyond B.O.S.S. students participate in an interactive mock town and take on real-world roles. They manage budgets, track expenses, run businesses, vote and make decisions that mirror adult responsibilities. It provides them with a grounded and relatable way to understand money and daily financial choices.
   
   
2. JA in a Day: Through this experience, members of the district’s Talented Scholars Network (TSN) (Black Scholars Honors Network) provided lessons at Evergreen Elementary School in Carol Stream as part of JA’s High School Heroes Program. Every grade at the school received hands-on financial and career readiness activities.
   
   
3. JA Take Stock in Your Future: The Talented Scholars Network (TSN) (Black Scholars Honors Network) participated in this stock market program that uses a hands-on simulation to teach investing fundamentals. Students learned how buying and selling stocks works in real time, how risk plays a role and how current events move the market. 
   
   
4. JA Stock Market Challenge: District 88 students participated in the JA Stock Market Challenge and placed as Regional Finalists. This is a live simulation, where students take what they learned in the classroom through the JA Take Stock in Your Future curriculum and apply it to the real world. JA Areas facilitate fast-paced competitions based on a fictional marketplace. Students can compete in teams or individually, in person or remotely.

“Dr. Humphrey … joined forces with JA to consistently create opportunities for students to build financial literacy skills, leadership skills, career awareness and confidence,” JA said during the awards presentation.

Dr. Humphrey joined Addison Trail in 2021-22 and quickly made an impact. She was hired as District 88’s first Student Success Coordinator in December 2023. Dr. Humphrey has more than 35 years of experience in education and travels the world as a motivational/transformational speaker. She was an educator in Chicago Public Schools and Bellwood School District 88, served as a Principal with Quad County Urban League, was an administrator with Indian Prairie School District 204 and was a professor at Aurora University. Dr. Humphrey earned her bachelor’s degree from Western Illinois University, her master’s degree in General Administration from Benedictine University and her doctorate in Educational Leadership: Coaching and Mentoring Educators from Aurora University.

Humphrey’s personal journey of perseverance provides a unique perspective to encourage students to accomplish their goals. Her focus is to make sure each student succeeds, and she does so by fostering an inclusive environment and authentic relationships with each child and his/her family members and teachers.