The District 64 Board of Education at its July 15, 2019 meeting confirmed the selection of Stephen Majewski as Associate Principal of Emerson Middle School effective August 1. Mr. Majewski replaces Mrs. Samantha Alaimo, who was appointed earlier this spring to become Emerson’s new principal. Together with Assistant Principal Tim Benka, the administrative trio will provide oversight for about 880 students and 100 staff members at D64’s largest school.
Mr. Majewski’s career as a teacher has focused exclusively on middle level students. He comes to D64 from CUSD300’s Algonquin Middle School in Algonquin, where he served for the last five years as an 8th grade social studies teacher. He also chaired the D300 Social Studies Department including facilitating professional development and managing the department budget, among other responsibilities. In addition, he served on a number of key school-wide committees, including the School Improvement Team and Safety Team.
“Stephen’s infectious enthusiasm for the unique challenges of educating middle schoolers along with his clear understanding of how to reach and motivate young adolescents to be engaged and successful learners and to expand their social emotional learning quickly impressed our interview team,” according to D64 Superintendent Eric Olson.
“We are confident that his deep knowledge of middle level education, his experiences as a department chair, and his teacher-to-teacher communication efforts to build trust and work toward goals have prepared him to make a seamless transition to Emerson,” Dr. Olson added. “We know that he will work well alongside Mrs. Alaimo and Mr. Benka in leading our Horizon Award-winning school forward into the next decade,” Dr. Olson added.
Earlier in his teaching career, Mr. Majewski taught language arts and social studies at grades 7 and 8 in East Prairie School District 73 in Skokie and previously in CCSD21 in Wheeling. A graduate of Illinois State University, Mr. Majewski has completed two master’s degrees from Roosevelt University, in elementary education and most recently, in instructional leadership.
Mr. Majewski was selected following an intensive review process from an initial pool of 60 applicants. Paper and phone screenings yielded 10 semi-finalists, who were interviewed by an administrative committee of District and middle school administrators. Three finalists then met with a committee of Emerson middle school staff members and District administrators before Dr. Olson selected Mr. Majewski for the post.
(PHOTO: Mr. Stephen Majewski)
