Naperville Central High School seniors can no longer nominate themselves or their classmates for homecoming court.

The school replaced its student-driven nomination process with staff nominations for the 2026-27 school year, tying the selection to the new Redhawk Core Values, as first reported by the Central Times student newspaper. Under the old system, students collected signatures and submitted forms to the Student Advisory Council (SAC), which finalized the court before holding elections. Now, any staff member, coach or sponsor can nominate a senior through a Google Form.

"We wanted to shift it from more of a popularity contest to students who truly embody the core values that we've been talking about this year a lot," SAC sponsor Megan O'Malley told the Central Times.

O'Malley, SAC co-sponsor Ryan Crawford and Dean of Student Activities Samantha Szopinski made the decision together. Discussions began during the 2025-26 school year, before the Redhawk Core Values launched this fall.

The values assign a theme to each grade level. For seniors, that theme is "lead with integrity," and O'Malley said staff used it as the lens for evaluating nominees based on character, extracurricular involvement and contributions to the school community.

Juniors and seniors still vote to choose the final court and royalty from the staff-nominated pool. The process produced a 10-person court this year.

Senior Ally Wolf, who was nominated by O'Malley and did not know about the change beforehand, said the staff recognition carried weight. But Wolf said the change has drawn mixed reactions from classmates. Seniors who wanted to run on their own no longer have that option.

An earlier SAC Instagram post featured students who did not appear in the final court announcement. The post was later taken down. O'Malley said some students decided the court was not for them this year.

The Redhawk Core Values replaced the school's "Be the 3" slogan, which had been in place since 2013. Principal Jackie Thornton told the Central Times in September that a locker-room incident involving a racial slur prompted her to define what the school stands for. A 40-member committee of staff and students developed the four values through surveys conducted in spring 2025.

O'Malley said SAC may blend both approaches in the future, keeping staff nominations while reopening a path for students to put their own names forward.

The homecoming dance is Saturday, Sept. 26, from 7 to 10 p.m. at Naperville Central. The theme is Rio.