District 203 honors longtime educator
Naperville Unit District 203 didn't need a good-luck charm as it fine-tuned its curriculum over the years.
All it needed was Lenore Johnson.
The district on Thursday dedicated Kingsley Elementary School to Johnson, the first principal of the school when it opened in 1990.
As a gift, district and community leaders gave Johnson a charm bracelet and charms that symbolize the many ways she influenced education during her nearly three decades in District 203.
"She has been a front-runner and a major player in building and making sure we have the excellent curriculum we have today," school board President Mike Jaensch said as he gave her a charm with books. "Especially building the processes that continue to make us a world class district."
Johnson joined District 203 in 1978 as a teacher at Steeple Run Elementary and became principal of Prairie Elementary in 1985. In 1990, she became the first principal of Kingsley. She was named the district's director of curriculum for elementary education in 1994 and assistant superintendent for elementary curriculum and instruction in 1999. In 2004, she became associate superintendent for instruction, the job she held until she retired in 2006.
"In each of her many roles she built enduring greatness for students, staff and administrators in District 203," said Melanie Raczkiewicz, associate superintendent for operations. "Her blend of humility and professional growth was witnessed over and over again."
She gave Johnson a charm with a bear on it to represent the Standard Bearer Process the district uses to assess its operating strategies.
Julie Beehler, principal of Naper Elementary, remembers being a new teacher and meeting Johnson. Just one meeting was all it took for the veteran to make an impression. Beehler went home that night and told her mother she hoped to one day have an understanding of learning like Johnson's. Thursday, she gave her mentor a queen bee charm to represent leadership.
"You are a model of collaboration, dedication, knowledge and passion for what you do," Beehler said.
From Roberta Buhle, co-director of the NLU Chicago Literacy Initiative Practice, Johnson received a charm with a globe to symbolize the journey they shared.
"What Lenore is always able to do is to keep you focused on where you're going," Buhle said. "She's brave when you're not, she's loyal to you as a person, she's always there for you."
During Thursday's ceremony the school's band and orchestra performed and guests also watched a slide show of Kingsley pictures, including some of Johnson during the early days when the school was still under construction. Officials unveiled a plaque honoring the educator that will be on permanent display at the school.
Johnson has stayed active in District 203 since her retirement and also is serving as a consultant to the DuPage Regional Office of Education. She said she was honored by the dedication but that opening Kingsley was a community effort, hence the symbol of a quilt that has endured for the school's 20 years.
"We like to look at the spectrum of personalities which were blended to make Kingsley an effective school," she said. "It wasn't one kind of person but a lot of people. We believed you had to celebrate the differences to make a community come together."