Habeeb Quadri Honored Among Nation's Top Principals

SKOKIE, IL — The leader of a local school is in Washington, D.C., this week to be honored as one of the most outstanding principals in the nation, becoming the first principal of an Islamic school the to receive the National Distinguished Principal award from White House officials.

Habeeb Quadri, superintendent of the Muslim Community Center Academy in Morton Grove and Skokie, was one of five private school leaders to be selected for the 2019 class of nationally distinguished principals by the National Association of Elementary School Principals.

Quadri, 44, of Morton Grove, took over as principal at the MCC Academy in 2002. Two years later, it became one of the first Islamic parochial schools in the United States to receive national accreditation.

The school, founded in 1989, has since expanded from its Morton Grove campus to include a second campus in Skokie, growing from fewer than 200 students to more than 700, according to school officials. Last year, Quadri was named MCC Academy superintendent, managing its four school units, which now includes high school students.

Quadri managed a "dramatic financial restructuring," allowing the school to balance its budget, pay off its debts and establish an endowment to purchase the former Solomon Schechter school building in Skokie and accommodate a lengthy waiting list. He also led an comprehensive improvement plan that saw test scores at the school rise from an average of 72 percent to 88 percent, according to the National Association of Elementary School Principals.

The first-generation American and Chicago Public Schools alum is one of 61 principals to receive the National Distinguished Principal honor this year, which is awarded to a public school principal in each state. He was nominated by the Council of Islamic Schools in North America before being selected for the national honor in July from among principals of more than 30,000 private schools, according to an MCC Academy release, which noted Quadri is the first-ever leader of an Islamic school to receive the honor.

Quadri is also a cancer survivor. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer last summer and began chemotherapy treatment last winter, he said in a message to parents. He told WLS he was going through interviews for the distinguished principal award and his cancer treatment at the same time.

"It's something I tell the kids you can go through struggles, but at the end you know things work itself out," Quadri said. "It shows for students that if you work hard in America, you have an opportunity to get recognized."

Quadri knew he wanted to pursue a career as an educator since teaching Sunday school at age 14, according to the MCC Academy. Before college, he helped organize and gain approval for the first formal Friday Muslim prayer service in a U.S. public high school. He has since taught in both public and private schools, become a member of the Principals' Advisory Board at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education and authored five books about Islam, education and parenting.

Staff who've worked with Quadri described his leadership style — which includes appearing in costume at weekly assemblies — as "eclectic," WMAQ reported. Quadri said the distinguished principal award sent a powerful message to students and the community that hard work will be rewarded.

"It was exciting not just for myself but for our school, our community, our teachers, our parents," he told the station. "Because all of them work together — we all work together."

Quadri attended a reception at the State Department Thursday evening ahead of leadership sessions, a reception at the White House and a black-tie gala and awards ceremony Friday.