Blue ribbon winner: Westmont High School earns nation’s top education award

When the announcement came that Westmont High School earned the National Blue Ribbon School award, it wasn’t just another certificate.

It was a moment to celebrate years of hard work, staff dedication and students who rise up to the challenges.

“The kids were going crazy when we found out about the accomplishment,” principal Jack Baldermann said. “I’m really grateful we were recognized. It does inspire the kids to continue to work hard. This has helped to boost us, and it gives us something to rally around.”

While there are several school awards, the National Blue Ribbon School award is considered a top recognition in the country. Since the award began in 1982, 28 high schools in Illinois have earned the recognition as an exemplary high performing high school. Many of these schools are magnet high schools or private schools and few share Westmont High School’s designation as a Title 1 school. Title 1 is the largest federally funded educational program; it provides supplemental funds to school districts to assist with large concentrations of low-income students.

With less than 400 students, Westmont High School was among the smaller and most diverse schools to earn the recognition. Baldermann said 32% of the student body is classified as in economic poverty, meaning they qualify for free or reduced-price food services.

Illinois high schools that won the award in the past were, for the most part, larger, had a small to marginal percent of students in an economic poverty classification and were located in affluent communities where families may have more access to additional resources outside of school. For example, a fellow winner this year was Hinsdale Central High School.

Baldermann said winning the National Blue Ribbon School award is a recognition of how Westmont High School students and teachers have gone above and beyond.

Westmont High School students are among the top performing in AP classes. It is the only high school in DuPage County with a 10 rating (10 being best) from Greatschools.org. In 2019, Westmont High School won the DuFour Award as a Best Professional Learning Community in the U.S.

“We are a middle-class high school and we’ve really worked very hard to overachieve and do amazing work,” Baldermann said.

Westmont High School has a graduation rate of 99% for the past eight years. During that time, there have been no dropouts among its Black students, which represent 8% of the student population, and the Latino student population, which is 20%.

“We have one of the highest graduation rates,” Baldermann said. “We don’t ever give up on our kids.”

Starting his 10th year as principal, Baldermann said a benefit of a small high school is that the staff gets to know students and connect with them.

“We have kids who really struggle, but we never give up on them,” Baldermann said. “This staff is second to none. They will do what is best for students. It’s incredible. When it comes to our students, they are here for the students.”

And it isn’t merely test scores that Baldermann praises when he talks about his school. He said there is a true element of compassion among students and staff. Suspensions are rare, he said. Students and staff have fostered a culture of respect and caring for one another that allows the focus to be on academics and achievements, he said.

“It’s really powerful and special,” Baldermann said.

Community Unit School District 201 Superintendent Kevin Carey said the award isn’t possible without all of the work and support that starts with the district’s youngest students in preschool through the primary and middle school grades.

“This is a credit to our entire school district,” Carey said. “We are a smaller district, but we know our students.”