We are so excited to be recognized today as a National Blue Ribbon School Award recipient for 2017!  Below is our parent communication regarding this special honor.  Go CMS!!!  Also, a big thank you to our Blue Ribbon application authors:

Dear Caruso Families:

I’m excited to announce that your child attends a 2017 National Blue Ribbon School!  

It is with great pride that I share with you that in a ceremony today, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos will name Charles J. Caruso Middle School a National Blue Ribbon School. If you are interested, you may watch the live stream of the announcement on the Department of Education’s youtube page – https://www2.ed.gov/programs/nclbbrs/index.html.  The announcement will occur this afternoon at 1pm EST (noon our time).

We were first nominated by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to be considered for this national award. The ISBE’s nomination of Caruso as an “exemplary high performing school”  was based on measures of our student achievement. Next, we submitted an incredibly detailed application to the U.S. Department of Education that provided information about Caruso’s climate and culture, instruction and curriculum, assessments, professional development, leadership, and parent and community support.

Of the nearly 4,500 public schools in Illinois, we are 1 of 16 public schools to receive this prestigious honor in 2017. This is the second time Caruso Middle School has received this award; the first time was 33 years ago in 1984 when the school was called Wilmot Junior High.

I would like to thank the staff who served on the application team. It was an arduous process, and their hard work to tell the story of our school and our students was outstanding. Caruso Middle School would not have earned this award without their leadership.  Team members included:

  • Adriane Reisman
  • Anna Riddle
  • Barb Mastin
  • Carrie Schrader
  • Casey Wolfer
  • Dana Spies
  • Jana Wagner
  • Jenna Weiner
  • Jenn Gold
  • Jessica Jaksich
  • Julie Witczak
  • Kirk Humphreys
  • Matt Milazzo
  • Sarah Hogan
  • Sharron Richardson
  • Suzanne Molloy
  • Taryn Lehman
  • Tracy Markin

In November, Suzanne Molloy will join me in Washington D.C. to accept this award on behalf of our entire school community.

I also want to thank you, our Caruso families, for your key role in this honor.  You represent a long line of Caruso families that makes high quality education and engaging learning environments a priority.  We would not be a Blue Ribbon school if we didn’t have such caring and committed families.  Thank you for sharing your time, talents, and values with us to make Caruso Middle School one of the best in nation!


Sincerely,

Brian