Conant High School listed as School of Distinction by IAEA

James B. Conant High School in Hoffman Estates has been named a 2026 “School of Distinction,” by the Illinois Art Education Association, marking the seventh year Conant has earned recognition from the statewide organization dedicated to advancing excellence in art education.

“This recognition celebrates schools with rigorous art, design, and media education programs. To earn the School of Distinction Award, JB Conant High School evidenced practices directly reflecting the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards, the Illinois Fine Arts and Media Standards, and Social-Emotional Learning Priorities,” the IAEA said in a statement released following the announcement.

District 211 and CHS Art department chair Erin Garrity-Duffey said that this recognition is a testament to the extra work the art teacher put in to stay current in their field.

“These teachers go above and beyond to learn the current trends in the market, and bring that back to the class while working to amplify the students’ interest in our curriculum,” she said. “That’s what makes the students buy into our program and produce at the top tier of the state.”

The work of those teachers and their enthusiasm for the curriculum is what has kept junior Konrad Plizga enrolled in art classes for the past three years.

“The teachers always like to come here, and they are always eager to teach the students,” Plizga said. “I think every student should take at least one art class at CHS. It’s a lot of fun.”

Freshman Kaye St. Clair is currently enrolled in her first two art classes of high school. She said she initially enrolled looking for a way to express herself and has found that opportunity here.

“The T-shirt project has been my favorite so far,” she said. “It allowed us to see what we were capable of the most.”

Garrity-Duffey said that Conant offers four distinct tracks of art: broadcast, digital media, traditional painting and drawing, and Three-Dimensional art. She said that the nature of the curriculum allows students to move between the tracks to explore their interests.

“Participating in high-quality art, design, and media courses develops student creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and communication skills in valuable ways,” The IAEA statement said. “Students in these programs gain social and emotional skills along with college, career and citizenship readiness. Research indicates that schools with successful programs like that at JB Conant High School experience increased student attendance, engagement and academic performance when compared with schools that don’t.”

In recognizing Conant High School, the IAEA specifically honored art educators Erin Garrity-Duffey, Luke Jenner, Brian Schroeck, Jamie Peterson and Justin Bickus for the distinguished programming and the significant opportunities offered students.