Honors and Awards

Stevenson High School has earned a number of awards since its beginning in 1965. The school was the first public high school in Illinois to receive four Blue Ribbon Awards for Excellence in Education from the U.S. Department of Education. Stevenson was awarded Blue Ribbon Awards in 1987, 1991, 1998 and 2002.

• In 2010, Stevenson was one of five schools in the country to receive the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts National Schools of Distinction in Arts Education Award.
• Three faculty members have been Illinois Teacher of the Year finalists.
• In 1998, SHS was selected by the U.S. Department of Education for its New American Schools Award.
• Stevenson has been featured prominently in a number of books and articles over the years. SHS receives detailed attention in Strengthening the Heartbeat: Leading and Learning Together in Schools (Josey-Bass Publishing, 2004); and From the Inside Out: Learning From the Positive Deviance in Your Organization (National Staff Development Council, 2003). In addition, former District 125 Superintendent Dr. Richard DuFour and his Solution Tree organization have published a number of books in which Stevenson's programs play prominent roles.
•  In 2005, Stevenson was recognized in a national report as one of 24 high schools in America that serve as an outstanding model for integrating excellence and ethics as part of its educational programs.  The study, Smart and Good High Schools, published by the State University of New York at Cortland, discussed how well the school is developing ethical values and character in its students.
• The District 125 Board of Education in 2002 was selected to receive the American School Board Journal's 2002 Magna Award, one of only three school boards (out of approximately 15,000) in the country to earn the honor. Stevenson's Board of Education was chosen because of its pursuit of success for every student by replacing a sorting and selecting approach with a commitment to help all students achieve high academic standards by providing extra support and time for students and staff.
•  Newsweek and U.S. News and World Report regularly have included Stevenson in their lists of America's best public high schools. SHS is regularly listed as the top open-enrollment public high school in the state by those publications. Also, in its September 27, 2011 edition, U.S. News listed Stevenson as having the top-ranked mathematics and science program in Illinois among open-enrollment public high schools.