Metea principal named Aurora's African-American Leader of the Year
Metea Valley High School Principal Darrell Echols will be honored by Aurora's African-American Heritage Advisory Board as its 2018 African-American Leader of the Year during ceremonies later this week.
The group will host its 14th annual Heritage Dinner at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23, at Gaslight Manor. 2485 Church Road.
The crowning event of Black History Month, the group uses the celebration to present scholarships to high school seniors, recognize community members for their contributions to Aurora and fete its Leader of the Year.
A longtime educator in Indian Prairie Unit District 204, Echols served as a teacher at Hill Middle School, dean at Waubonsie Valley High School and principal of Hill Middle School. In 2014, he took the helm as principal of Metea Valley.
During his tenure, Metea has received several honors, including inclusion in U.S. News and World Report's Best High Schools in America, Chicago Magazine's Best High Schools in DuPage County and a Grammy Award for its music program.
"Dr. Echols has helped to create an environment of excellence at Metea Valley High School," Mayor Richard C. Irvin said. "Through his students, staff and community initiatives, that culture has permeated throughout Aurora. We are a better community because of his leadership."
Irvin also will present the 2018 Mayor's Lifetime Achievement Award to Avis Patterson Miller for her decades of work as a community organizer and educator in East Aurora Schools.
The board's 2018 Nia Awards will be presented to Angie Richardson, director of the information resource center at the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy, and Charmaine Peterson, founder of the Dream Dance Academy.
During the ceremony, Aurora high school students will receive the Henry Cowherd Scholarship named in honor of the longtime community leader and 2008 African-American Leader of the Year who died last summer. A special commemoration will be presented in Cowherd's honor.
Tickets are $60, with a portion going to the Henry Cowherd Scholarship Fund.
For details, contact Dee Hakala at dhakala@aurora-il.org.