Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 has named a new principal for Field Elementary School and a new associate principal for Emerson Middle School.
The District 64 Board of Education voted Monday night to hire Courtney Goodman as the new principal at Field School and Tessa Aiossa as the associate principal at Emerson School. Both appointments were confirmed Monday during a special Board meeting. Mrs. Goodman’s hire will be effective July 1 and Aiossa will start on August 1.
Mrs. Goodman, Field’s new principal, has been the principal at John Middleton Elementary School in Skokie School District 73.5 for the past three years. Prior to that, she served as the Assistant Principal at Oliver McCracken Middle School in District 73.5 for four years. Before going into administration, she worked for six years as a middle school Language Arts and Social Studies teacher at McCracken Middle School. She also worked in Chicago Public Schools as an English teacher for one year.
“We are very excited to welcome Mrs. Goodman to Field Elementary School,” said Superintendent Eric Olson. “Throughout her administrative positions and her career, she has been actively involved in a number of building and district initiatives from facilitating a Parents Advisory Council to co-planning a Curriculum Revision Cycle. She’s the kind of leader we feel will be a great fit for the Field School community.”
Mrs. Goodman earned a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Missouri, Columbia and her Masters Degree in Education, Teaching & Learning from DePaul University in Chicago. She has a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Administration and Supervision from National Louis University, Chicago and anticipates a Doctorate in Leadership in 2022 from National Louis University.
Mrs. Goodman was chosen from a pool of 64 applicants. Five were interviewed by central office administrators and principals of Carpenter and Roosevelt elementary schools. The final two candidates met with a mix of administrators, Field School staff members, PTO representatives and two School Board members.
As Associate Principal at Emerson, Ms. Aiossa will work alongside Principal Samantha Alaimo and Assistant Principal Tim Benka in providing oversight for close to 900 students and 100 staff members.
Ms. Aiossa has worked for the previous two years as an Assistant Principal at Genoa-Kingston High School. Previous to that position, she served as a Dean of Students for three years at two high schools in District U- 46. Prior to that experience, Ms. Aiossa served as an English teacher in South Elgin High School for four years and at Bartlett High School for one year.
“During the entire interview process, Ms. Aiossa was one of the candidates who continually stood out,” said Superintendent Eric Olson. “She exemplifies everything we were looking for in an associate principal. She has leadership experience on restorative practices as a proactive approach to handling student discipline and has extensive experience as both an administrator and a teacher.”
Ms. Aiossa earned a B.A. in English from Illinois State University and has a Masters of Arts in Leadership and Instruction Degree as well as a Masters of Arts, Curriculum and Instruction with ESL Education Degree, both from Concordia University, Chicago.
She was chosen from a pool of 94 applicants. After the initial screening, 10 candidates interviewed with an administrative committee. The top three candidates then interviewed with Emerson staff members and District 64 administrators.