When Dr. Shernita Mays took over as principal of the Illinois School in Park Forest, Ill., four years ago, she set out to make it the best K-8 school in her district.
And she's just earned the state's highest honorthe Illinois State Board of Education's highest designation of exemplary.
Only 303 of the state's 3,168 public elementary schools have that designation, and of those, just 23 are in the Chicago area.
But Mays' school is one of the few to have a Book Vending project, which pays students for good behavior.
She also encourages students to participate in community projects, such as the Walk of Hope at a cancer support center, board member Chime InJeffrey Johnson tells the Chicago Sun-Times.
"At Illinois School, we make every effort to ensure that learning is explorative, creative, and innovative," says Mays, who has taught in the public and private sectors for 36 years. Read the Entire Article
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Washington, D.C. based incubator for social entrepreneurs, Halcyon Incubator, has selected seven ventures to move into the newly renovated Halcyon House in September for its inaugural class of fellows.