Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois State Board of Education recently announced Fremd as one of twenty eight winners of the 2025 Governor’s Blue Ribbon School. The Governor’s Blue Ribbon Schools Program was established after the U.S. Department of Education’s prestigious National Blue Ribbon Schools Program was canceled by the Trump Administration in August. It celebrates schools with exemplary academic performance.
“We’re appreciative for the governor’s willingness to recognize high performing schools in the state and fortunate to be one of the schools to win the inaugural award,” assistant principal Michael Smith said.
Before they can be considered for the Blue Ribbon Award, schools must submit an extensive application detailing their community, as well as academic and athletic success. For Fremd, this was a team effort.
“The application was really long and required a lot of different people adding their expertise to the process,” Smith said. “Administrators and department chairs all divided and conquered to make sure that we were telling the full and robust story of Fremd.”
This story includes student success both academically and athletically, as well as the supports that are offered for students to achieve these successes. What truly makes Fremd special though, is the community.
“The strong sense of community here inspires students, staff members, and families to not just want the best, but also to put in the work to reap the rewards,” Smith said. “We have highly motivated students that go above and beyond, as well as staff members who have graduated from a D211 school. So there’s an understanding of the high expectations.”
Moving forward, administrators and staff members hope to build upon the successes acknowledged by the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Award.
“We’re always trying to find ways to stay proactive and innovative,” Smith said. “The approach that took place last year was mostly effective, but there are also some tweaks that need to be made because the beautiful thing about education is that it’s not a one size fits all. It’s about supporting all students in every way possible.”
