Two schools get Blue Ribbon honors — St. Josaphat and St. Giles outshine others for awards

Two archdiocesan elementary schools will be honored Nov. 15-16 in Washington D.C. with the National Blue Ribbon Schools Award.

St. Giles in Oak Park and St. Josaphat, 2245 N. Southport, received the award based on the high achievement levels of their students. They were among 314 schools across the country and 19 in Illinois to be honored this year, and they become the 22nd and 23rd Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Chicago to be honored since 2005.

Principals at both schools said their schools succeed because of their high quality faculties and committed parent communities.

Colleen Cannon, who has been principal at St. Josaphat for the last four years, said that while there are a lot of excellent Catholic schools throughout the archdiocese, St. Josaphat “is very interested in serving the whole child. We work on their social emotional growth and even their physical growth.”

St. Josaphat students go on a trip to an environmental camp in fifth grade, and junior high students go to a team-building camp. Junior high students also are offered an honors humanities course that meets before the regular school day begins, Cannon said.

The school has seen its enrollment grow from about 250 four years ago to about 360 now, she said, with much of that growth attributable to an influx of young families in its neighborhood. The parish is in the process of putting a five-classroom addition on the school and building a new library and media center.

St. Giles benefits from a longstanding and committed core of teachers and staff. Principal Susan Poetzel has been in her position for six years, and she taught at the school for about 15 years before that, and she has many staff members with long tenure, she said.

“That leads to stability in a school and chance to improve,” she said.

They work well with parents to provide a strong education to their students, she said.

“We really are a community that can work together to help our children become well-rounded individuals,” Poetzel said.

The school cultivates an open, friendly attitude among students, encouraging them to greet teachers each day by saying “good morning.” Themes adopted for each school year encourage students to treat others the way they would like to be treated.

The school does not shut down after classes end or in the summer, with extended day opportunities, sports camps and day camps, Poetzel said.