PREFACE

When you ask nearly anyone why they moved to Naperville or the surrounding area, they will say “because of the schools.” Indeed, the schools and the community have a symbiotic relationship. Schools reflect the expectations of the people who learn and work in them and focus on the needs of communities they serve. High achievement of students and high expectations of our schools have played a part in every initiative and project in the District over the last 25 years – from providing each student a Chromebook or iPad and improving and modernizing our school buildings, to adding a dual language program and creating an ambitious community engagement process.

That’s the topic of this book: the stories of the last 25 years that led us to today, with schools among the top performing in the nation in a community that is known as one of the best places to live. The stories contained here are organized through contextual summaries by year and are punctuated with select nuggets of news. We not only wanted to explore the unique features and events of the time, but also some of the people of Naperville 203 whose voices and stories give us a rich picture into the history of Naperville 203. We thought it was important to uncover and share the stories that connect us all.

When I was asked to write a history on the last 25 years of Naperville 203, I was thrilled. I lived that history, as a parent, as a volunteer in the schools, as a trustee on the Naperville Education Foundation and as a communications/ public affairs consultant under the last four superintendents. I am honored to be trusted to witness and memorialize Naperville 203’s legacy.

Faith Behr