Hodgkins Elementary School - Hodgkins, IL

John Adams said, "The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people..." This is the commitment of public schools. For the last one hundred years, Hodgkins School has been a public institution that has responded to the changing needs of the community it serves. This has involved responding to challenges, not as barriers, but as opportunities to truly meet the needs of this community. It would be impossible to summarize our success in responding to challenges without addressing the current pandemic. This, perhaps, has been the greatest challenge faced by American education for as long as this physical building has stood on these grounds.

Shortly after receiving the National Blue Ribbon Nomination, the context of schooling changed dramatically. The very real threat of the virus spreading forced us to shift overnight to a remote learning environment for the remainder of the school year. What did not change, however, was our dedication to students and families, nor our commitment to responding to their needs and best interests.

For the start of this school year, we have responded to the best interests of this community once again. As we have done for 100 years, we approached the challenge as an opportunity. We established fully remote and hybrid options that allow us to continue providing high quality educational experiences while supporting families in staying safe and healthy. This is the calling of a public school. As John Adams said, we function as a whole to take responsibility for the whole. This is the calling we answer.