District 308 Receives NAACP 2015 Community Leadership Award

Oswego, Ill. (December 14, 2015) — School District 308 was recently honored at the 2015 Annual Meeting and Awards Presentations of the DuPage County Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The organization presented the school district with the NAACP 2015 Community Leadership Award, which is given to individuals and organizations that make a difference in the lives of others.

“We are honored to be recognized as a community leader by the DuPage County Branch of the NAACP,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Matthew Wendt said. “We are proud of the relationship we have built with the organization and we are happy to partner with our local NAACP on important events and issues that help advance the academic and many other opportunities for students of color.”

School District 308 was the only school district recognized by the group at its meeting at Benedictine University, in Lisle, Ill.

“We are proud to recognize School District 308 as a community leader for 2015,” said Veretta Rice Yancey, President of the DuPage County Branch of the NAACP, which serves various counties including Kendall County. “We appreciate the relationship the NAACP has formed with Dr. Wendt and School District 308.”

To help recognize the organizations and individuals that exhibited a consistent spirit of excellence in stewardship and service in 2015, nearly 100 community leaders, students, and members from DuPage, Kane, and Kendall counties attended the DuPage County Branch event.

“District 308’s community outreach extends to both parent and student groups,” Rice Yancey said. “It goes beyond saying that there is work to be done in the area of education equality for our students in the quad counties. Our goal has been to partner with school districts to build programs to impact students of color, and District 308 has been most supportive.”

Other organizations honored at the event were Giving DuPage, African American Men of Unity, Top Ladies of Distinction, Benedictine University, New Horizon Church, DuPage African Methodist Episcopal Church, Aurora Actionaires, DuPage Federation on Human Services Report, Presence Health, Quad County African American Chamber of Commerce, Progressives-Harambe, and the Boys and Girls Club of Naperville, Ill. In addition, nine individuals were recognized.

District 308 hosted the College and Career Readiness Fair for the DuPage Country Branch of the NAACP in 2014. In September 2015, the DuPage County Branch of the NAACP acknowledged School District 308 for its participation in the group’s Education Summit Series.