Principal Bill Wiesbrook addressed the Central community on Dec. 6 in regards to the recent cheating incident. Read the full message below.

“Parents & NCHS Community:

Academic Integrity is critical to the culture of any school, and one of the core values of NCHS and our district. When this is brought into question, we will act to preserve and reinforce this value with our students and our staff.  Honesty, responsibility, fairness, respect, and trust are values that exist when academic integrity is present. The ramifications of academic dishonesty extend beyond the content of a single test, the sharing of a “few answers”, or the copying of someone else’s words, which is the lesson we want all students to understand.

Concerns about student cheating at Naperville Central were recently brought to the attention of school staff by other students. We commend these students for taking the appropriate action when they observed behavior that was frustrating and wrong.  Reporting suspicions of cheating is a form of academic integrity. At Naperville Central, this type of integrity is shown every day by our students.

I would like to encourage every parent to discuss with your student(s) the importance of acting with integrity in all things.  It is better to be honest and fall short of a goal than to take an unethical shortcut and reach a goal.  The end is not more important than the path taken to reach the end.  As a principal, I would rather have a student who earns a grade of “C” honestly than a student who receives a grade of “A” through dishonest behavior.

Schools, teachers, and students have always faced the issue of cheating. The tools may have changed through the years, but unfortunately the behavior still exists. We are here to support you as parents to reinforce this critical lesson.  Students caught violating the school disciplinary code will receive the appropriate consequence, but the long-term ramifications of the decision to cheat can extend far past a student’s days at Central. This is an important message that should be communicated together.

If you have any other questions or concerns, please contact me or any of our administrators to discuss this further.

Bill Wiesbrook, Principal NCHS”