Elmwood Park’s John Mills Elementary has earned high praise from the state, being named a 2026 Governor’s Blue Ribbon School.
Only 24 schools across Illinois received the distinction Oct. 20. It is one of the state’s highest educational honors and it rewards schools with high academic performance. John Mills Elementary was recognized because of its efforts to close achievement gaps between student groups.
Leah Gauthier, superintendent of Schools for District 401, welcomed the award and said it reflected years of hard work on the part of the staff, students and a lot of trust on the part of the board and local residents.
Gauthier has been superintendent for a decade and said that elementary school has set its sights on exceeding state performance average and after years of work, they did it.
“It definitely doesn’t happen overnight,” she said.
Gauthier said the school passed the state average in English two years ago and since then, the school has managed to beat the state average in math, too. But the school wasn’t recognized just for high performance — the blue ribbon award recognized John Mills for closing achievement gaps across student groups. The official designation is, an Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing School.
In short, it wasn’t enough that one cohort of students did really, really well — all students had to succeed.
Gauthier praised the School Board for allowing her to pursue that goal and supporting the effort.
“We need more support, more resources to implement that,” she recalled telling board members. “It’s a marathon not a spring by any means.”
But, she said, the School Board delivered and provided the money and the support to close those gaps. Gauthier said she and other school leaders made a good argument for the investment, but she praised the teachers and the team at the school for making it happen. Everyone, she said, had a part to play.
“When things get tough, we are a small district,” she said. “When somebody needs something were there for one another. We really just try all hands on deck and support everyone.”
In a press statement, school principal Frank Kuzniewski said something similar.
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“When I think about our progress in closing the achievement gap and being recognized by ISBE and the governor’s office, I think about our teachers, the planning, the collaboration, and the care that go into answering one essential question: ‘What do our students need next?'”
Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.