Last week, nearly 1600 Noble Schools staff members gathered at UIC’s Isadore and Sadie Dorin Forum to celebrate the start of the school year and over 25 years of Noble’s impact and service to Chicago since 1999.
Emcees Brenda Cora and Dalonte Burns, two Noble leaders and early Noble Street alumni, led the way throughout the event.
“We are choice-filled lives personified!” Burns shouted to the crowd’s cheers after he and Cora shared about how Noble had changed their lives and led to their amazing leadership opportunities as UIC College Prep’s principal and Noble’s chief schools officer respectively.
In their matching button-up shirts (a callback to their old Noble uniforms), Cora and Burns brought a host of speakers and performers to the stage. Multiple Noble leaders like CEO Constance Jones and Chief College Officer Aide Acosta offered words of encouragement and centered staff in our mission to equip students to attend college and lead choice-filled lives.
“Our students deserve to be college graduates and this has been true at Noble for the past 25 years,” Acosta said to the sea of educators. “Our impact in Chicago is about positive multigenerational change… The stakes are high and the city is waiting for our brillant alums to lead it.”
Several amazing artists performed at the kick-off, from the UICCP Firecats cheer team opening the event with a routine to Baker College Prep teacher Abril Green shaking the room with her kick-off slam poem:
Teachers with over 10 years of service at Noble were even called up to the stage by Ellen Metz, head of schools, to get their (literal) flowers and were cheered on by the entire network.
Of course, all of this was backed up with an amazing 90s and early 2000s-inspired setlist, DJed by Butler College Prep alum Samuel Hawkins. It included hits like Family Affair by Mary J. Blige and I Want You Back by NSYNC.
The event wrapped up on a high note with the first performance of Noble Schools’ brand new Unity Dance Team, a cohort of talented student dancers from multiple Noble campuses.
Throughout the day, Noble staff cheered, laughed, hugged, and danced for an overall wonderful start to the school year. Suffice to say, we are READY for the first day of school this week.
Check out more photo highlights and words from Noble educators across the network about what they’re most excited about for this school year below:
“Oh, I’m definitely excited about my seniors and the fact that we’re celebrating 25 years. We also have a major election coming up, and we’re getting all our students excited about that and getting their families out to vote. Just an amazing year—looking forward to that.”
— Adriana Villegas | College Counselor | Noble Street College Prep | Years at Noble: 24
“I’m excited for cheer season, definitely! We have a lot of competitions planned. I’m excited for all of the sports we just got like girls’ flag football—I’m really excited about that. We’ve been trying to get that for a long time. I’m excited for all the kids to experience new things and to be challenged… I’m excited to see where exactly I will be in the next year, hopefully moving up in my SpED department and from my paraprofessional role to a learning specialist.”
— Cresean Gresham | Paraprofessional & Assistant Cheer Coach | Butler College Prep | Class of 2018 Alum
“I am excited about this upcoming school year. This is our second year as One Comer. We have great leadership and I see our principal’s vision coming to fruition. I think our scholars are embracing and adjusting to the vision as well… our students are so excited about the school year that they’ve been dropping by all summer long just to check in. They love being in the school, which means it’s a welcome environment for both us and them, and that comes from good leadership. So, that’s what I’m excited about.”
— Ciara Riberson | Office Manager | Gary Comer College Prep | Years at Noble: 5
“I’m just always excited to see the students and meet my new students. I get to {work with} a lot of the same group of 11th and 12th graders, so I’m excited to see those kids again, and then I’m excited to meet my new juniors.”
— Laura MacCallum | Learning Specialist | Pritzker College Prep | Years at Noble: 11
“I’m definitely excited to connect with alumni and see where they’re at in college or post-college graduation. I just want to see where they’re at and how I can help further guide them to achieve their dream goal and career.”
— Adrian Ortega | Alumni Career Associate | Noble Support Team | Pritzker Class of 2016 Alum
“I’m excited about the 25th year celebration! Truly excited about all the things in the pipeline for Noble and the direction in which we’re going. It’s just gonna be a great year—I already know that.”
— Miracle Moss | Principal | Rowe-Clark Math & Science Academy | Years at Noble: 11
“I think at Bulls, we are having a lot of change that is gonna be positive for our students and our staff. So, I’m just excited to have that happen.”
— Jacob Goldstein | Dean of Culture | Chicago Bulls College Prep | Years at Noble: 11
“I’m excited to see the kids. They needed a break, so I want to see them with their refreshed faces and a new mindset, to see what they’re going to bring to the school year. I’m just excited to see them grow.”
— Calia Collins | Culture Specialist | Mansueto High School | Gary Comer Class of 2020 Alum
