Noble Schools’ Educators Celebrate the Start of the New School Year

This graphic has a photo in the background of a group of Noble Schools' staff members smiling and posing for a photo. They are all wearing matching dark blue shirts that have the Noble logo on them and read "One Noble, One Vision: Excellence, Equity, and College Readiness". On top of the image is a dark blue transparent layer. On top of that and in the bottom left corner is blue text on a yellow box that reads "Noble Educators Celebrate the New School Year". The Noble Schools logo is in the bottom right corner.
Published On: August 29th, 2023Categories: 2023, Noble Updates, Parents, Staff, Students

Last Monday, hundreds of Noble staff from across all 17 campuses gathered to celebrate the start of this school year. The Noble Staff Kickoff has been an annual event for years, but this was the first time we were able to have it in person since the start of the pandemic.

Staff hugged and danced together as they streamed into the UIC Forum auditorium. Johnson College Prep Principal Jonas Cleaves and Noble Street College Prep Principal Ben Gunty kicked off the event with a roll call for all the campuses. Each campus screamed and cheered when their side of Chicago was called out.

@nobleschools We are still recovering from Noble's first Kick-Off event yesterday since 2019! We had such a great time being in community with other before the start of a great year begins in the morning! 🫶💙💛 #OneNobleOneVision #BeNoble #Equity #Excellence #CollegeReadiness ♬ original sound - afterschoolmatters
Photo shows a wide shot of the stage as the emcees for the event, Noble Street College Prep Principal Ben Gunty and Johnson College Prep Principal Jonas Cleaves, address the crowd. Cleaves is to the right and speaking into the mic, looking down at the audience. Gunty is to the left and looking at Cleaves.

Principal Cleaves (right) and Principal Gunty (left) kicked off the event as the emcees.

Photo shows Noble Schools' staff members standing up from their auditorium seats and cheering at the Noble Staff Kickoff for the 2023-2024 school year. Their hands are raised in celebration and many of them are smiling or yelling out with pride.

Noble staff cheer as their school neighborhoods are called out.

Photo shows two Noble staff members smiling and looking at the camera as they side hug.

Noble staff greeted each other in the front lobby with hugs and smiles.

Photo shows a group of Noble Schools' staff members posing in front of a backdrop with the Noble Schools'

Photo shows a close-up of a group of Noble staff members who are cheering on and filming the Hansberry dance team as they perform. Many have their hands raised or are clapping.

Noble staff cheer on the Hansberry dance team as they perform on stage.

In this photo, two Noble Schools' staff members are sitting and smiling at the camera. They are in an auditorium with hundreds of chairs behind them. They are both wearing dark blue shirts that have the Noble Schools logo on them and say "One Noble, One Vision: Excellence, Equity, and College Readiness".

In this photo, two Noble Schools' staff members are going in for a hug and smiling as they greet each other in the front lobby at the Noble Schools' Staff Kickoff event for the 2023-2024 school year.

Noble Staff Hugging 2

Photo shows a group shot of The Noble Academy staff standing and looking at the camera, smiling. They are in a big auditorium at UIC with hundreds of chairs behind them and bright lights above them. They are all wearing dark blue shirts that have the Noble Schools logo on them and say "One Noble, One Vision: Excellence, Equity, and College Readiness".

Noble Staff Smiling 4

Throughout the time, speakers kept calling back to Noble’s big commitments for this school year: excellence, equity, and college readiness.

“Excellence represents what we believe our children deserve, and college readiness represents what we believe our children are capable of. Equity is about us. It’s about just how committed are we to justice, to freedom, and to change for our children of color,” said Jennifer Reid Davis, the Head of Equity & Strategy of Noble Schools.

Photo shows a full body shot of Jennifer Reid Davis, the Head of Equity and Strategy at Noble Schools, as she addresses the crowd on stage at the podium. Behind her is a projector screen that has a photo of Chicago Bulls College Prep students next to words that read "Our all MUST mean all".

Jennifer Reid Davis, Noble's Head of Strategy & Equity, addresses the crowd.

The rest of the time served to build up Davis’s words and center staff in those principles.

Staff cheered as they watched videos of their peers, students, and parent partners talking about their experiences at Noble Schools and how it made them a better student/teacher/parent. They also watched a video about the 10,000th student we sent to our premiere college experience program, Summer of A Lifetime.

Alex Jimenez, a senior at Noble Street College Prep, went to Georgetown University in D.C. this summer to attend a rigorous medical program. Staff watched snapshots of her performing CPR, attending classes, and hanging out with her peers on campus.

“My overall experience has been amazing. It’s made me learn so many new things, and I’m so grateful for this opportunity,” Alex said in the video, “Summer of A Lifetime has made me even more excited about going to college, and I can’t wait until my first day.”

The event also included a moment to celebrate another one of our important programs – but this one for staff: Noble’s Distinguished Teacher program. All 12 of our 2023 Distinguished Teachers were brought on stage to thunderous applause as they were awarded with their own personalized Chicago Bulls jersey.

Photo shows a wide shot of the entire Noble Schools' Distinguished Teacher 2023 cohort lined up on stage. They are all smiling and clapping as they are surprised to be honored at the kickoff event.
Photo shows the Chicago Bulls College Prep cheer team on the stage presenting personalized jerseys for the Noble Schools' Distinguished Teacher 2023 cohort. To their right is Ellen Metz, Head of Schools at Noble Schools, who is at the podium and speaking to the crowd, her hand raised towards the jerseys to present them. Behind them is a projector screen that shows the Noble Distinguished Teacher Program logo.

All of that would be enough to celebrate the new school year, but there was even more to get staff pumped.

Noble parent advocates came on stage to encourage staff as well. Myisha Shields, a long-time Noble parent who sent all 5 of her daughters to Noble schools, talked about her great experiences with Noble and why she chooses to advocate for Noble in Springfield. Staff cheered her on and even sang her happy birthday because she decided to spend time with Noble staff on her own birthday!

Photo shows Noble Schools' parent Myisha Shields speaking at a podium on a stage for the Noble Staff Kickoff event for the 2023-2024 school year. She is a Black woman with short black hair and is wearing a Noble Schools t-shirt. In this photo, she is raising up her arms as she speaks to the crowd.

Ms. Shields addressed the crowd to speak passionately about her time at Noble Schools.

In this photo, Noble Schools' parent Myisha Shields is on stage, side hugging Jennifer Reid Davis, Noble's Head of Strategy and Equity. Ms Shields is holding a bouquet of flowers and crying. Behind both of them is a projector screen that has a photo of Ms Shield's on it and the words "Happy Birthday".

Ms. Shields cried as all Noble staff sang her happy birthday.

In this photo, many Noble Schools' parents are posing on the stage at the Noble Schools' Staff Kickoff for the 2023-2024 school year.

Noble parents showed up at the kickoff event to show their support for staff.

Noble staff all sang happy birthday to Ms. Shields.

Students also came to cheer staff on.

Staff were treated to amazing performances from the Hansberry College Prep dance team and the Golder College Prep marching band during transitions between speakers.

Photo shows a wide shot of the Hansberry dance team, the Bengal Dance Collective, performing on stage at the Noble Schools' Staff Kickoff for the 2023-2024 school year. They are all bent low at the knees with their right hand on their thigh and their left hand raised in the air. The dancer in the center of the photo has a deep look of concentration and effort on her face.
Photo shows the Golder College Prep marching band standing on stage, performing at the Noble School's Staff Kickoff for the 2023-2024 school year. The dancers of the band dance are strutting in the front as a tuba player and multiple drum players play behind them. There is a big projector screen behind them that says "The Golder College Prep Marching Band".

Lastly, as staff headed out of the auditorium, Noble Schools had food trucks ready to serve them from La Cocinita, Billy Bricks, Chesa’s Bistro & Bar, and Chicago Lunchbox.

Photo shows two Noble Schools staff members holding food in front of the La Concina food truck. They are smiling and looking at the camera.
Photo shows a wide shot of the green Chesa's Bistro & Bar food truck as Noble Schools' staff members line up in front of it.
Photo shows a close-up of a Noble Schools staff member grabbing food for the orange Chicago Lunchbox food truck. Behind her, you can see other staff members waiting in line.
Photo shows a close-up of a Noble Schools' staff member ordering at the red La Concinita food truck. You can see other staff lined up behind her.

Overall, the kickoff was a great time for our community to connect and ground ourselves in our shared commitments to the students and families we serve.

Before they headed out, we asked some staff there what their goals are for this year. Check it out:

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In this graphic, there is an image in the background that shows a bunch of Johnson College Prep girls and staff posing at the Women's Empowerment Brunch with Noble Schools' CEO Constance Jones in the center. There are big bay windows behind the group and a photobooth set up with a green grass backdrop and pink balloons. On top of the photo, there is a transparent dark blue layer. On top of that and in the bottom left corner, there is blue text on a yellow box that reads "Johnson College Prep Launches Speaker Series for Girls & Women". In the bottom right corner is the Noble Schools logo.Johnson College Prep Launches Speaker Series for Girls & Women
Image in the background shows a group photo of Noble Schools' parents and staff standing in the Illinois State Capitol building's rotunda. Everyone is smiling and many are wearing bright orange shirts that say "$550M for Evidence-Based Funding" with the Funding Illinois Future logo on them. This photo was taken during Noble Schools' Lobby Day trip in April 2023. On top of the photo is a dark blue transparent layer. In the bottom left corner, there is blue text on a yellow box that reads "4 Reasons Why Noble Parents Should Advocate in Springfield". The Noble Schools logo is in the bottom right corner.4 Reasons Why Noble Schools' Parents Should Advocate in Springfield

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