A petition circulating at Naperville North High School claiming the school puts too much academic pressure on the student body has prompted a review from the school district, the Chicago Tribune reports.
The Change.org petition, titled “The Naperville North Pressure Culture Must Change” had 1,240 signatures as of Friday afternoon. The newspaper reports the petition surfaced days after the “second unexpected death of a student this year.”
"Any loss of life, especially one of our students, is tragic. Our community has certainly been impacted this year,” a statement from the school district reads.
The comments section of the online list of signatures is a virtual outpouring of support from Naperville students and residents—as well as people across the country.
“At Naperville North there is one path to success. This path is made clear from the day high school anticipation begins, and is reiterated until graduation,” the petition reads. “From the age of 13 every prospective Naperville North student understands that this path makes no exceptions, and those who wander off or fall behind are left for failure. Everyone here understands that there is no worse fate than failure.”
Naperville School District 203 is aware of the petition and an official told the Tribune it would be taken into consideration.
"Our student and Naperville 203 community feedback is important. By sharing their opinions, they are raising awareness of mental health. We will continue to look for ways to engage our students and community on this important issue," Michelle Fregoso, the district's director of communications, told the newspaper.
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The petition, which is accompanied with a lengthy and accusatory essay, claims the school’s culture is to blame for an abundance of stress and unacknowledged mental health issues.
“With every second of their life devoted to the ‘Naperville North Way’, leaving no time for recuperation, relaxation, or socialization, how would you imagine this student’s mental health is,” the essay reads.
The district is reportedly planning a discussion with mental health experts.
“The ‘Naperville North Way’ ends today,” the petition says. “The one true path to success ends today. From now on, we forge our own paths. We define our own success.”
