North Central staff member program recognized by NAACP

Janis Fitzsimmons, North Central College's executive director of its Urban Education Laboratory and founder of the Junior/Senior Scholars, was recently recognized by the DuPage County chapter of the NAACP.

Fitzsimmons received the Trailblazer in Education Award for 2016 for her work with programs that have introduced higher education experiences and allows students and families to be familiar with higher education. The organization states that she has also shown to be passionate and a visionary in developing education and training.

Through the Junior/Senior Scholars program that began in 1988, students engage with mentors and tutors and provides encouragement to complete high school and college.

The Urban Education Laboratory serves as a connection between high-need schools and students within the college’s education program and opens up clinical and internship experiences at these schools. Fitzsimmons played a key role in establishing the Associated Colleges of Illinois’ Center for Success in High-Need Schools, which serves to train future teachers from multiple backgrounds with focus on schools that are in low-income areas.

She also oversees the center and serves as the publisher of the Success in High-Need Schools Journal.

Fitzsimmons earned her doctorate from the University of Chicago.