Haven Middle School’s Principal Christopher Latting is one of six finalists chosen from over 130 nominations across the state for the 2023 Golden Apple for Excellence in Leadership Award.
The award, according to a news release from Evanston/Skokie School District 65, awards leaders who showed significant and sustained positive impact on the school, created a culture of inclusivity, and delivered dramatic student growth.
“This recognition represents an opportunity for our school community to celebrate the hard work, dedication and collaboration that the students, staff, families and community partners have poured into Haven,” Latting said in the news release. “This is also a moment of great pride for me, and I am grateful for the opportunity to be recognized among such talented and accomplished school leaders.”
Latting served as a middle school teacher, assistant principal and principal in Joliet prior to joining the District 65 team in 2020. He managed the students’ transition from online to in-person learning as the COVID-19 pandemic ramped down.
According to the news release, Latting has focused on upgrading the school environment with visual improvements, setting clear expectations for student behavior with training for teachers and staff and creating partnerships with local organizations such as City of Evanston Youth and Young Adult Outreach.
Latting brought on one assistant principal, a social worker and a school counselor per grade level to help staff and students, along with four liaisons to work with family and community engagement efforts. The release also said he helped create a new class called AVID which serves traditionally underrepresented students and teaches career and college readiness as well as executive functioning to help students after they leave Haven.
Students have also been given the chance to participate in leadership roles at Haven with the introduction of student ambassadors who, according to the news release, work with teachers and staff to give students a say in how their school operates.
“One of Mr. Latting’s greatest strengths is that he is unapologetically centered around his students. He’s visible within the school community and has worked so hard in the wake of the pandemic to foster meaningful relationships within the Haven community,” Superintendent Devon Horton said in the news release. “He is incredibly deserving of this recognition and we are so fortunate to have such a caring and passionate leader in District 65. He is the right individual to be at the helm and championed an incredible and much needed transformation that has brought the community together.”
Two winners will be chosen later this spring and receive $10,000, of which $5,000 will be given to the school program of the winners’ choosing. Winners also join the ranks of the Golden Apple Academy of Educators.
Principal Ben Collins of Maine South High School in Park Ridge was also named as a finalist.
