Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 has named a new assistant principal for Lincoln Middle School.
On Thursday, the District 64 Board of Education voted to approve the hire of Mina Caputo as a new Assistant Principal at Lincoln, starting July 22, 2024. She will work alongside Principal David Szwed and Assistant Principal Timothy Gleason at Lincoln. Caputo's background will be a great asset as we set up programming and training for the SLC and Emotional Support classrooms that are being created as part of Lincoln’s Phase 1 construction project.
This past year, Caputo has worked as a Supervisor of Special Education in Naperville School District 203. Before working in District 203, she was a Special Education Coordinator in Elmwood Park School District 401. Her initial administrative position was in Palatine District 15 from 2020 to 2022, where she also served as a Special Education Coordinator. Before entering administration, Caputo began her educational career as a middle school special education teacher in 2009.
In District 203, Caputo led staff training on using research-based interventions, strategies, and instructions at all grade levels while also aligning special education services, programs, interventions, and strategies with the District’s vision for student learning. She also facilitated special education data reviews focusing on monitoring student achievement and continuous improvement.
Caputo earned a B.A. from Butler University, a Master’s Degree in Special Education, and a Master’s in Illinois Principal Preparation from Concordia University.
Thirty-eight individuals applied for the position. After the initial screening, five candidates were brought back in to be interviewed by a District 64 administrative committee. After several rounds, two final candidates were brought back and interviewed before a committee comprised of Lincoln administration, District 64 central office administrators, and Lincoln staff members.