Awards and Accolades

All 10 of the Duneland Schools earned the designation of Family Friendly School from the IDOE in 2023. This state program recognizes schools that excel in involving families and communities in the educational process. The purpose of the program is to focus on addressing the academic, physical, emotional, and social needs of students while providing the needed resources and fostering the active involvement of their families through schools and the community. 

All 11 Duneland Schools are designated as Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) Purple Star Schools. This designation is awarded to schools for their significant display of commitment to service members, veterans, students and families connected to our nation’s military. This designation, valid for three years, was first awarded in 2021 and re-awarded in 2024. 

Chesterton Senior High School received the GreatSchools.org’ 2020 College Success Award. The College Success Award recognizes and celebrates high schools that demonstrate excellence in ensuring students are prepared to succeed in college. Award-winners are determined by a methodology that evaluates school-level data on college preparation, college enrollment, and college performance.

In 2021, CHS was named one of 1,770 schools from 26 states that satisfied the College Success Award-Gold criteria. The College Success Award – Gold honors schools with a strong track record of postsecondary success, as evidenced by the school winning two or more College Success Awards within the last two years. https://www.greatschools.org/indiana/chesterton/337-Chesterton-Senior-High-School/

Chesterton Senior High School earned a bronze medal on the AP School Honor Roll for 2023.  They are one out of 1,340 schools (9% of eligible schools) to receive the Bronze level AP School Honor Roll recognition for their work in creating AP programs that are delivering results for students while broadening access.  https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/ap-school-honor-roll-national-report.pdf

Chesterton Senior High School earned high National and metro-area rankings in 2023-2024 Best High Schools, which U.S. News released on August 29, 2023.  Here is the school’s updated U.S. News profile page, with its new National, metro-area, and school-district rankings: https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/indiana/districts/duneland-school-corporation/chesterton-senior-high-school-7182. 

Niche ranked Duneland School Corporation #1 in Best School Districts in Porter County three years in a row and one of the Top 25 School District in the State of Indiana from 2020-2022.

Chesterton was voted the Best Place to live in Porter County by the personal finance website WalletHub.

Chesterton was voted #3 Best Place to Raise a Family in Indiana by HomeSnacks.net

Duneland Schools has a long standing history with school and district accreditation spanning decades of excellence.  In 2008, Duneland was one of the first to be nationally recognized with District Accreditation in recognition of leadership and school improvement by the North Central Association (NCA).  Overtime NCA evolved into AdvancED and now Cognia.  Cognia has grown to a global network of enthusiastic educators focused on strengthening systems and schools. Their holistic approach to continuous improvement encompasses accreditation and certification, assessment, professional learning, and customized improvement services. Through their work with Cognia, Duneland continues to maintain district level accreditation and more importantly, a focus on academic excellence for all students in all areas.  

In September 2023, Duneland was selected as a Cognia System of Distinction.  The district earned this recognition based on the results of Cognia’s rigorous Accreditation Engagement Review process. Duneland shares this honor with a select group of peers.  With over 1,100 engagement reviews for accreditation completed in the 2022-2023 school year, Cognia recognized 25 schools and eight systems in 12 states and five countries with this distinct honor.

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (often referred to as DP) is a challenging two-year program of courses taken in Grades 11 and 12.  The curriculum is provided to Chesterton High School by the International Baccalaureate World Organization.

Each year, Chesterton High School touts those seniors that have qualified as semifinalists, finalists, and scholars in the National Merit Scholarship Program; as well as those commended students.

A Common Sense School is an honor that recognizes efforts in teaching digital citizenship to young people and engaging the entire school community in this important discussion. All of the Duneland Schools currently teach digital citizenship and four schools have received the 2022-2024 Common Sense Education recognition badge.  This recognition acknowledges a school's commitment to creating a culture of digital citizenship.

The Duneland School Corporation counseling programs have earned the Indiana Gold Star Counseling Award as well as the American School Counselor Association R.A.M.P. (Recognized ASCA Model Program) awards.

In September of 2024, the Chesterton High School Counseling Team completed Indiana’s Comprehensive School Counseling Initiative, Carrying the Torch to Student Success,at the highest level possible - Gold Star.