Chamber Awards Franchise of the Year to School of Rock Glenbrook
January 26, 2026
Amy Renzulli is not a person who lets obstacles slow her down. The owner of two School of Rock franchises, she combines a passion for art and creativity with business acumen honed over years as a health care executive. Those strengths enabled her to successfully launch School of Rock Glenbrook in a new community, at the height of the pandemic - and grow it into an award-winning franchise for its parent company.
Amy first came to the School of Rock organization as a parent, looking for music education opportunities for her pre-teen daughter. Inspired by her daughter’s experience as a School of Rock student in Chicago, Amy made a career leap in 2013 by leaving a management role at Blue Cross Blue Shield and opening a School of Rock franchise in her home community of Oak Park. That location caught on quickly, earning recognition as the School of Rock Highest U.S. School Student Count in 2020.
Building on that success, Amy started researching sites for an additional School of Rock. Northbrook attracted her attention because she saw that there was a cohesive community that would value and support high-quality music education. Plans to open at the White Plains Shopping Center began in 2019, with a grand opening in the fall of 2020 - a time marked by shutdowns, masking requirements, and other COVID responses. Undeterred, Amy and her team adapted their operations with remote lessons and specialized programs that allowed her to attract students and crucially offer work opportunities to her staff of professional musicians.
"I wanted to build upon the success of our first location in order to provide more jobs and create more leadership roles,” says Amy. “The success of the School of Rock Glenbrook rests squarely on the shoulders of the people who are there every day. Husband and wife management team Erica and Dave Vazzano, along with our Music Director Christina DeCillo, are passionate about the Northbrook community, especially our students and their families."
Since those challenging early days, School of Rock Glenbrook has grown steadily year over year, with a current total of 185 students and 21 employees. The franchise has received the School of Rock Headliner Award for 2023, 2024 and 2025 - an honor recognizing the top 35 out of 435 schools for surpassing expectations in school safety, utilization of the patented School of Rock Method™, customer satisfaction, and operational excellence over the course of the calendar year.
The School of Rock experience isn’t limited to kids - adult students are also welcome to explore music in a supportive environment. “At 65, it has changed my life,” shares Andy Vass. “It has renewed my love for music, expanded my respect of various genres, given me new confidence in my guitar and vocal skills and made me many new friends!"
School of Rock Glenbrook has also forged strong community connections through its participation in local events and support of students in need. Glenbrook’s "Show Team", a House Band of select students, has performed at Northbrook Days, Shermerfest, the St. Norbert Block Party, District 28’s HOH 5k, the Lurie Foundation’s Children’s Ball, Chamber After Hours, and many more programs. Proceeds from these performances go directly to the school’s Scholarship Fund, a needs-based financial assistance program for families who can't afford the full cost of programs. Additionally, in 2025 alone School of Rock Glenbrook donated over $5000 in services to organizations and fundraisers in the area, such as schools, PTOs and non-profits.
Through resilience, vision, and commitment to giving back, Amy Renzulli and her team have built more than a successful franchise—they have created a thriving creative hub that inspires local youth and enriches the Northbrook community.
