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Illinois School Board Journal
January/February 2007
Hall of Achievement models success for all
by Ralph Whiteman
Ralph Whiteman is an advisory member to the Monmouth-Roseville Education Foundation and the founder and principal donor to the Education Foundation's Hall of Achievement.
In a classic wedding of town and gown talents, a retired businessman and succeeding district superintendents have collaborated to create a very successful Hall of Achievement to honor high achieving graduates of Monmouth-Roseville CUSD 238.
As the founder and principal donor, I envisioned a way to address a common misperception as well as focusing on what's good in the district.
The first target was a perceived corporate inferiority complex. The district's graduates, teachers and community/taxpayers did not recognize the quality of the alumni the district was producing.
By focusing on the high achievers who come out of the district, the program offers:
The district recognizes a former student every year from each of its grade schools. At an assembly for fourth- through sixth-grade students, honorees speak directly to students about how their lives as students parallel the lives of current students.
In the evening, after a private dinner for honorees, spouses and friends, duplicate plaques (one for the honoree and one to be placed in the school's Hall of Achievement) are presented. The Monmouth-Roseville Education Foundation serves as overall coordinator of the program, administering contributions and expenses, as well as sponsoring the committee that solicits, creates and screens a pool of potential honorees.
The program has exceeded all expectations. In addition to appropriately recognizing worthy recipients as excellent role models for current students, the Hall of Achievement has heightened awareness and appreciation for the quality of teachers in the district — both current and past — by recognizing how teachers help shape students' values and goals.
The Hall creates a pervasive "feel good" environment for the district and community at large when outstanding graduates are highlighted. The search for honorees requires a review of accomplishments of the alumni pool and presents a vast and impressive array of the careers of former students.
Realizing that the school district's students, parents, teachers and community have performed well enhances self-esteem for all. As a result, the Education Foundation benefits from Hall of Achievement recipients who have been very generous in annual solicitation efforts.
Selected achievers represent excellent diversity in age, gender, race, personal testimony and occupations. Among the most outstanding were a recipient in his jet flying suit, complete with video, and a chemistry professor with dramatic visual experiments.
Challenges include candidate research, quality control and avoidance of cronyism, as well as nomination pressure. Names of the selection committee are unpublished, and that helps.
At the same time Hall of Achievement recipients are inducted, the Education Foundation also bestows a Distinguished Service Award to an outstanding volunteer who has assisted in the promotion of the quality and effectiveness of local education.
An indication of the potential universality of this Hall of Achievement is a quote from Roger Fritz, president of Organization Development Consultants: "It is an idea which would benefit every school district in the country."
Fritz is considered one of the country's foremost motivational authorities and has published more than 40 books in 32 foreign countries and languages. His wife is a graduate of District 238, and he has observed the development and impact of the program since its inception.
Fritz himself is an honoree of the Monmouth College Hall of Achievement, an offspring of this program, founded by the same individuals and for basically the same purpose.
Editor's note
Questions regarding any phase of this program may be addressed to the Monmouth-Roseville Education Foundation, Monmouth-Roseville CUSD 238, 401 E. Second Avenue, Monmouth, Illinois 61462.