District 54 is proud to announce that Hanover Highlands Elementary School and Mead Junior High School were both named National Banner Unified Champion Schools by Special Olympics, two of only four schools chosen in Illinois this year.
They are now two of the 21 nationally recognized schools in Illinois joining Campanelli, Lakeview, Addams and Keller. District 54 is the only school district in Illinois to have more than one school with a Champion banner.
- This is Hanover Highlands’ first Champion banner. Only five elementary schools in Illinois share this honor and three are District 54 schools.
- Mead is winning the banner for the second time, having received it originally in 2017. Only five junior high schools in Illinois share this honor, and again three are District 54 schools.
A National Banner Unified Champion School demonstrates a commitment to building an inclusive school through collaboration, engagement and respect for all members of the student body and staff. Schools must meet 10 standards of excellence based on three overarching components. Those components are
- A Special Olympics Unified Sports program, where students with and without disabilities train and compete as teammates,
- Inclusive Youth Leadership groups and
- Whole School engagement.
The Unified Champion School team at Mead has been led by Rebecca Dombro, Arianna Woods, Gina Ravanesi and Jennifer Rialla (Geraghty) for the last few years. At Hanover Highlands, Rachel Rosone, Laura Jaeger and Sarah Duda have led these efforts.
However, this recognition is shared by all of the students, staff and community at these two schools who continuously work together to cultivate inclusive school environments.
