District 88 celebrates Staff Appreciation Week

This week is a special time in education.

From May 7 to 11, we will celebrate Staff Appreciation Week, which is a time to reflect on everything our staff members do for each and every student each and every day. It’s fitting this week comes just after our Staff Recognition Dinner, which took place on May 4. That annual event is a great lead-in to Staff Appreciation Week, as we honor members of our District 88 family for their years of service. This year, we recognized 57 individuals for giving a combined 895 years of service to the district. We also said thank you to 19 members who will retire at the end of this school year and – combined – have given nearly 360 years of service to District 88.

While this past year has been filled with several devastating natural disasters and school safety incidents, our staff members remain focused on taking care of all students and maintaining our culture of acceptance and support. When we honor students with our District 88’s Best award each month and ask them what has helped them reach this level of success, they always respond by naming teachers, coaches and staff members who took the time to make a difference in their life. Today, being an educator means so much more than simply teaching content. Our staff members get to school early, stay late and constantly go above and beyond to serve as mentors for students and help them reach their goals.

Our students continue to receive state and national recognitions in academics, athletics and extracurricular activities, and that happens because of our partnerships and a committed and passionate staff, a knowledgeable Board of Education, involved parents/guardians and community members and engaged students. To see/read about highlights of those accomplishments, including staff achievements, check out our 2017-18 photo albums at:

If you’re on Roosevelt Road in Villa Park or on/near Lake Street in Addison this week, be sure to look for signs and marquees at local businesses/organizations with messages thanking our staff members for their dedication. Our student council and parent/booster groups also hosted appreciation breakfasts, and I would like to thank those businesses/organizations and school groups for joining us in recognizing this special occasion.

I again give a heartfelt thank you to our staff members for their unending support of our mission to work for the continuous improvement of student achievement.