Glen Oaks Elementary School leaders were honored on March 4 at the Illinois Governor’s Mansion, where they joined other educators to be formally recognized as Illinois Blue Ribbon Schools.
Principal Farah Daoud, teacher Jen Stefl, and North Palos District 117 Superintendent Christine Droba represented Glen Oaks at the ceremony. The school was among only 28 institutions statewide—15 public and 13 non-public schools—to receive this distinction for exemplary academic performance.
The event followed the end of the federal National Blue Ribbon program in August 2025. In response, Governor J.B. Pritzker created the Illinois Governor’s Blue Ribbon School Award to continue recognizing top-performing schools in the state. During his remarks to attendees, Pritzker said: “Twenty-eight outstanding schools are represented here tonight, recognized for the prestigious distinction that’s based upon the rigorous criteria…You have met and exceeded those really high standards. Each and every day you come to school eager to support our students, their safety, their growth, and their well-being.”
North Palos School District 117 includes Dorn Primary Center, Dr. Kenneth M. Sorrick School, Glen Oaks Elementary School, H.H. Conrady Junior High School, and Oak Ridge Elementary School in Cook County according to the Illinois Report Card. The district enrolled 3,403 students during the 2019-2020 school year and serves grades pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in Palos Hills and Cook County according to state data.
The district employs a total of 198 teachers with an average salary of $58,644 before pension contributions; women make up 87.4 percent of staff while men account for 12.6 percent. No teachers had more than ten absences in a school year according to state records. Demographically, North Palos is composed of approximately 72.7 percent White students, with Black (4.7 percent), Hispanic (15.3 percent), and Asian (3.1 percent) populations also represented according to ISBE.
In terms of spending, North Palos allocated $18,504 per student in 2020 for a total expenditure of $62,969,588 as reported by ISBE. The district recorded a chronic truancy rate of just 1.3 percent—44 students classified as chronically truant—well below the statewide average of 9.6 percent according to ISBE data.
This recognition marks Glen Oaks’ third time earning a Blue Ribbon distinction and highlights ongoing collaboration between staff, students, and families within Hickory Hills.
