At its February 22 meeting, the District 45 Board of Education recognized North Elementary School Assistant Principal Dr. Joe Ritchie. The Illinois Principals Association (IPA) recently named Dr. Ritchie the DuPage Region Assistant Principal of the Year.
At the meeting, Dr. Daniel Krause and Dr. Courtney DeMent from the IPA were on hand to recognize Dr. Ritchie and present him with a framed certificate. Dr. Ritchie was selected from over 200 assistant principals in a talented DuPage County region. Following their presentation, District 45 Superintendent Dr. Anthony Palmisano offered congratulations and expressed his professional admiration for Dr. Ritchie.
“I had the pleasure of hiring Joe as my assistant principal at Jackson Middle School 21 years ago,” said Dr. Palmisano. “I worked with Joe for a long time, and he is an outstanding educator.”
With Dr. Ritchie’s family and many colleagues in attendance, Dr. Palmisano spoke of Dr. Ritchie’s influence on our District’s teaching and learning philosophy. “As many of you know, we have a guiding philosophy here in District 45, which is constructivist teaching and learning,” said Dr. Palmisano.
“Joe was the first person to teach me what that was all about. He is responsible for the mission and vision that guides teaching and learning in District 45.”
Dr. Ritchie, on behalf of the District 45 Board of Education, our administration, staff, and students, congratulations on being awarded the DuPage Region’s Assistant Principal of the Year! We are so proud of you and your achievements. Thank you for all that you do for our District!