District 225 was named one of the top 100 workplaces in the Chicagoland area by the Chicago Tribune in November.

District 225 was ranked as the 28th midsize company. The results were divided into three categories: small, midsize (with between 250 and 999 employees) and large companies. This was the district’s first time receiving the  recognition.

Math teacher Leanne Hotton thinks South’s overall philosophy contributed to achieving the ranking.

“There is an overall desire to help the students grow as individuals and prepare them for the world they will enter as young adults,” Hotton said. “It’s all about the kids, and it should be.”

Companies are nominated by individual employees and are then invited to participate in a survey. Superintendent Dr. Michael Riggle said an anonymous staff member from North nominated the district.

Employees then take the online survey, and the results are analyzed by WorkplaceDynamics LLP, the company that produced the survey. According to its website, WorkplaceDynamics has been working with publications around the country to rank top workplaces since 2006.

Riggle wasn’t surprised that district staff members are content with their workplace.

“I think this district has really been outstanding for decades,” Riggle said. “It’s simply [that] the approach to education […] is on target with the way teachers would like to work.”

According to Riggle, the survey was given to district employees last spring. A total of 584 out of 778 district employees participated, well over the 35 percent of company employees required to take the survey.

While taking the survey, employees answered 23 questions using a seven-point scale about their opinion of their workplace, according to the Tribune. WorkplaceDynamics found an overall score for each company and used that to determine the top 100.

District 225 was one of four workplaces in the education sector, according to the Tribune. Other winners included Joliet Township High School District 204, ranked 21 in midsize companies, and Loyola University Chicago, ranked 21 in large companies.

Principal Dr. Brian Wegley believes the students and his co-workers make the district an ideal workplace.

“We have colleagues of the [absolute] highest caliber, and we have students who are tremendous people and driven and goal-oriented,” Wegley said. “It just creates an environment that is very rewarding.”

English teacher Cheryl Hope, a teacher at South for the past 20 years, feels that there’s a difference between District 225’s working environment and other schools.

“This is a place where we’re treated as professionals and […] Glenview and Northbrook are excellent communities that expect excellence,” Hope said. “I don’t know anyone here who would tolerate being a mediocre teacher.”
An outcome in the survey is getting recommendations back from WorkplaceDynamics on ways to improve the company, according to the Patch. Riggle and his staff will analyze the data they receive from the survey to determine what they can do to improve working conditions.

“I think we’re in a constant state of wanting to improve,” Riggle said. “We’d like to improve because the ultimate result is students get a better learning environment.”

Wegley feels hopeful about the future of South and South’s workplace.

“[The District] keeps its eyes on the future and on stability and remaining a very quality place, which I think creates a situation where you feel confident in the future of [the district],” Wegley said.