Education Committee

National Civics Bee in Joliet

The Joliet Chamber Foundation is proud to partner with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation to bring the National Civics Bee to the Joliet region for the 2025-2026 program year. This annual initiative – now expanding to all 50 states in celebration of America’s 250th anniversary in 2026 – invites middle school students to showcase their civics knowledge, engage in their communities, and build trust in others and institutions through a nonpartisan, multi-round competition.

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Joliet Region Education Hawk Scholarship Fund

Scholarships that encourage and motivate students starting at an early age to plan to attend college. Each year 40+ scholarships of $1,000 are awarded to students because of the support and generosity from the business community. Scholarship money will be sent at the appropriate time to the college or university the student chooses to attend.

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Great Teachers Awards Banquet

The Joliet Chamber will accept nominations for the 2026 Joliet Area Great Teacher Award in the Fall of 2025. Nominees must be certified, highly effective full-time teachers in grades pre-K through 12 in the public and private schools of the Joliet area. All nominees must have completed a minimum of three years teaching experience in Joliet area schools.

High School

Joliet Township High School District 204 includes two campuses, Central and West. JTHS prepares students for higher education and the workforce. The curriculum is strongly focused on computer technology, foreign language skills, and a variety of electives that suit individual students’ needs and objectives.

These electives provide students with the opportunity to round out their skills. Extracurricular activities at both schools include athletics, band, choir, dramatic arts, and various special interest clubs and social organizations.

Joliet is also home to many private parochial schools that meet the educational and religious needs of the community. Residents are also served by two private coed high schools — Joliet Catholic Academy and Providence Catholic High School. Both offer a college preparatory curriculum.

College/University

When it comes to higher learning, college-bound students and adult learners alike have several excellent options within the Joliet area.

Joliet Junior College
With a proud history as the nation’s fi­rst public community college, Joliet Junior College (JJC) is a leader and innovator in higher education. Offering more than 100 degree and certi­ficate programs, the college serves more than 35,000 students of all ages and backgrounds at its six campuses and education centers, and numerous satellite locations. JJC encompasses a fast-growing 1,442-square-mile district in seven counties. JJC is the college for students who want to go to school close to their home and job, who want further training to get ahead in the fi­eld they already work in, who want to explore different subjects before settling on a major, who want a smooth transfer to a four-year university in two years, who want options to combine online and classroom learning, who want to go back to school and complete their degree, and who want a college that is excellent, and also affordable.

University of St. Francis
The University of St. Francis (USF) offers four degree completion programs and 38 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and allied health and social work. Additionally, the university presents 12 graduate programs and a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program. USF’s Arts & Design Department operates out of its modern facilities at the renovated historic Rialto City Center campus in downtown Joliet. USF also operates a federally funded Health and Wellness Center in the downtown area. This is the first nurse practitioner managed center in Will County. USF is a “Yellow Ribbon” university, welcoming military veterans, and is ranked in the top tier of U.S. News & World Report’s edition of “America’s Best Colleges.” e university is also noted in e Princeton Review’s “Best Colleges: Region by Region.”

Lewis University
Located just north of Joliet on Route 53 in Romeoville, Lewis University is a comprehensive, Catholic university with a richly diverse student body, including traditional-age students, as well as adults of all ages. e ninth-largest among more than 80 private colleges and universities in Illinois, Lewis University off­ers approximately 80 undergraduate majors and programs of study, 22 graduate programs and accelerated programs for working adults through the Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Business, Education, and Nursing and Health Professions. Students attend classes at the main campus in Romeoville and at sites throughout the Chicagoland area, including campuses in Shorewood, Hickory Hills, Oak Brook and Tinley Park. Lewis is a dynamic, coeducational university sponsored by the De La Salle Christian Brothers. Lewis University provides its nearly 5,800-student population with programs for a liberal and professional education grounded in a values centered curriculum. Among Lewis’ many o­fferings is a Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership for Teaching and Learning. Lewis has the largest undergraduate nursing program in the state of Illinois, and is the only university in the Midwest to off­er the Air Traffic Control program.

Governors State University
Founded in 1969, Governors State University GSU is a four-year public university in the state of Illinois that champions openness, innovation and flexibility. Serving more than 5,500 students, GSU offers 64 degree and 24 certificate programs and our students earn the qualifications needed to succeed in business, industry, healthcare, the arts and education.