North Palos School District 117 won 14 awards during the 2023 Illinois State Board of Education’s annual “Teacher of the Year/Those Who Excel” contest. ISBE announced the names of the nearly 500 statewide winners on Thursday.
The annual program honors those who have made significant contributions to our state’s public and non-public elementary and secondary schools. Winners receive awards in three levels of distinction: Excellence, Meritorious Service and Special Recognition.
There are seven categories, including: classroom teachers, early career educators, school administrators, student support personnel, educational service personnel, community volunteers and teams.
NPD117 employees who received the Award of Excellence included: Shadia Salem in the category of Administrator; Julia Herman in the category of Early Career Educator and Denise Nossem and Lubna Alzboon in the category of Educational Support Personnel.
Employees who won Awards of Meritorious Service included: Amanda Cesak, Megan Patti, Jamie Albon and Kristin Brudzisz in the category of Teacher; Nancy Flores in the category of Community Volunteer; Jasmine Hakawati in the category of Early Career Educator; Edith Duarte-Rodriguez in the category of Educational Support Personnel and the Oak Ridge School 5th Grade Math Team in the category of Team.
NPD117 employees who received Awards of Special Recognition included Tara Hanson in the category of Student Support Personnel and Lydia Gamboa in the category of Educational Support Personnel.
Winners will receive a plaque recognizing their accomplishments and be invited to a banquet later this year in Bloomington, Ill.
Congratulations to all our amazing NPD117 team members!