Naperville Community Unit School District 203
Together as educators, families and community, it is Naperville 203’s mission to educate students to be self-directed learners, collaborative workers, complex thinkers, quality producers and community contributors. Naperville 203 continues to work on diversity and inclusion initiatives this 2019-20 school year by looking at the impact deep equity work can have in their buildings. Naperville 203 wants all students, all staff and all community members to feel welcome.
The outstanding students and staff continue to strive for success in and out of the classroom. Forty-six Naperville Central and Naperville North High School seniors were named 2018 National Merit Scholarship finalists, and nine seniors received the 2018-19 National Hispanic Recognition Program Award.
Naperville 203 was placed on the College Board’s Annual AP District Honor Roll – one of 373 districts in the U.S. and Canada honored. Naperville North High School was honored as a 2018 Blue Ribbon School for being one of the state’s highest performing schools.
Mission Makers from Elmwood Elementary gave up recess to go through the lost and found and return missing items to students. A Madison Junior High Student won first place in the Illinois State Geography Bee who then placed in the top 10 nationally.
Naperville 203 keeps high-quality public education a top priority and remains a draw for families moving to the area. Enrollment in the district includes 16,800 students in early childhood through grade 12 whom they educate in 22 schools across the area, as well as the Connections transition program.
The district covers 32 square miles including portions of Naperville, Bolingbrook, Lisle and Woodridge.
Indian Prairie School District 204
The fourth-largest school district in the state of Illinois, Indian Prairie School District 204 is currently educating 27,000 students in 32 schools covering portions of Naperville, Aurora, Bolingbrook and Plainfield.
District 204 is one of only three Illinois school districts to be a part of the Digital Promise League of Innovative Schools, which is a coalition of 102 forward-thinking school districts in 33 states. The district’s technology plan provides Chromebooks or tablets to students in elementary, middle and high school. The focus is on assisting students in becoming future ready.
All three of the district’s high schools have been ranked by Newsweek as being among America’s Top High Schools. The District 204 Fine Arts Program is also nationally recognized for excellence in music education. All three high schools have earned Grammy awards and were named in the top three music programs in the country. Neuqua Valley has twice been named the top music program in the nation. In total, the district has been presented with 16 Grammys by the Grammy Foundation.
District 204 also actively engages the business and civic communities by cultivating partnerships to enhance and support academic achievement, prepare students for college and career-readiness and engage volunteer participation in school activities. These partnerships have provided thousands of students with back-to-school supplies and other academic enhancements to prepare students for careers after high school and have encouraged them to think outside the school walls.
DeVry University
DeVry University opened its new administrative headquarters and academic center at 1200 E. Diehl Rd. in Naperville in July 2019.
DeVry had moved its home office, with its approximately 500 employees, from Downers Grove to Naperville last summer. DeVry’s accreditor, the Higher Learning Commission, recently acknowledged the new location and made it official.
More recently, DeVry moved its former educational centers from both Downers Grove and Naperville to the new Naperville location. It offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs and provides a collaborative education environment for students, including innovative classroom technologies and an open-concept design with a common area for students to study individually or collaborate with peers.
Because of its close proximity to several Fortune 500 corporate headquarters, prominent health care organizations and major players in technology and electronics, the Naperville Center provides students with access to opportunities in a wide variety of industries.
“DeVry has called Chicagoland ‘home’ for the past 88 years, and now we are proud to be a part of the Naperville community,” said James Bartholomew, DeVry president and CEO. “We have a long history of providing quality and innovation in higher education, and look forward to continuing our mission for students here in the western suburbs, in Chicagoland and around the country.”
DeVry University’s mission is to foster student learning through high-quality, career-oriented education integrating technology, business, science and the arts. Founded in 1931, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs onsite and online within its six areas of study: accounting, business, health care, technology, liberal arts and media arts & technology.
For more information, visit www.devry.edu.
Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University’s Naperville Center offers a wealth of services. They are your go-to location for academic degrees, professional certification programs, conferences and events (including weddings), e-sports gaming and camps for students, grades 8-12. They are conveniently located at 1120 E. Diehl Rd., just off I-88 and close to public transportation.
If you are ready to advance your career, they offer a variety of credit, professional certification and non-credit courses at NIU Naperville, including MBA and graduate education programs, degree completion programs, specialized certification prep courses, and authorized OSHA training. Many of these programs are delivered on evenings or weekends for your convenience.
NIU Naperville also offers a full-service conference center, which is ready to host your event, large or small. They partner with several hotels to offer discounted rates and free shuttles.
Speaking of events, you can hold your wedding at NIU Naperville. Enjoy your special day in a modern, elegant setting that will create memories to last a lifetime. The NIU wedding planner will help design a ceremony and/or reception that fits your style, theme and budget.
The E-sports Lounge is the newest addition to NIU Naperville. Open to students and the community, it has high-end gaming PCs and consoles for parties, tournaments or just casual play. Middle and high school students can learn to develop their own video games in Video Game Design camps and Saturday workshops offered by the NIU Digital Convergence Lab.
The center’s Arbor Vitae Café serves delicious coffee, tea and fresh food to eat-in or to-go. Learn more at go.niu.edu/NIUNaperville.