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The D303 Biology Professional Learning Communities team 📸 Credit: St. Charles CUSD 303
Three Tri-Cities school districts picked up notable awards and honors in recent weeks, recognizing everything from a music program's decade-plus streak to a middle school vocabulary team finishing near the top of the country.
The recognition spans Batavia, Geneva, and St. Charles.
Here's what to know:
Batavia's music program: For the 12th time in 13 years, Batavia School District 101 earned the Best Communities for Music Education designation from the NAMM Foundation — one of 31 Illinois districts to receive it this year. The award recognizes districts that demonstrate strong music access through funding, instruction time, facilities, and participation rates.
Geneva's WordMasters team: Geneva Middle School North's 8th grade WordMasters team finished 2nd overall nationally in the WordMasters Challenge, a vocabulary competition with roughly 125,000 student participants. The team placed 3rd in the nation at its final meet. One student earned a perfect score — an achievement reached by only 20 students across the entire country.
St. Charles district honors: D303 held its first annual “Together Honoring Excellence” awards ceremony on May 20 at the Rec Haus in downtown St. Charles, recognizing three staff members and one team selected from 65 nominations. Honorees included Jeanne Cramer (Anderson Elementary), Dr. Shona Fowler (Student Services), Terry Westergaard (Student Transportation), and the D303 Biology Professional Learning Communities team.
After that flurry of activity, local schools are now off for the summer.
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