The District 64 Board of Education at its April 25 meeting approved the appointment of Dr. Claire Kowalczyk as principal of Franklin School effective July 1. She is replacing Dan Walsh, who is leaving District 64 on June 30.
An experienced administrator, Dr. Kowalczyk comes to District 64 most recently from a four-year post as principal of Lincoln Elementary School in North Shore School District 112 in Highland Park. Previously, she served as principal of Betsy Ross Elementary in Prospect Heights School District 23 for four years and was the assistant principal for a year at Kimball Hill Elementary School in Palatine Community Consolidated School District 15.
Earlier in her career, Dr. Kowalczyk taught for a decade in Palatine as a classroom teacher and in self-contained special education classes. She also earned her National Board Teacher Certification and mentored other teachers in achieving this highly esteemed credential.
“As a seasoned principal and exemplary teacher, Dr. Kowalczyk will be an outstanding match for Franklin,” according to District 64 Superintendent Laurie Heinz. “Dr. Kowalczyk has a proven record of creating collaborative relationships with teachers and parents to create the best kind of learning environment that both nurtures and challenges students to reach their fullest potential,” she added.
“She has a rich background in instructional best practices and a deep understanding of the role data plays in guiding instruction,” Dr. Heinz noted. “Dr. Kowalczyk also is sensitive to the particular needs of engaging with a diverse community of families, like Franklin’s. To that end, Dr. Kowalczyk has earned an English Language Learners endorsement from National-Louis University,” she added.
In addition, Dr. Heinz noted that Dr. Kowalczyk has a lengthy track record of leading building and district-wide initiatives, which align well with those underway at Franklin and within District 64, such as launching a 1:1 technology initiative and a standards-based curriculum aligned with the Common Core, implementing bilingual programming, as well as bringing a building-wide focus to social emotional learning.
Dr. Kowalczyk received her doctorate from Roosevelt University and holds master’s degrees from both Northern Illinois University and National-Louis University. She is a graduate of St. Norbert College.
Dr. Kowalczyk was selected from a pool of 65 candidates. Three seated principal finalists were interviewed by an administrative committee, and then returned for further interviews with a 24-person committee of Franklin staff and parents, a District 64 Board of Education member, as well as central office and building administrators before Dr. Heinz selected Dr. Kowalczyk for the principal post.
“As the school year begins to draw to a close, we will schedule time for Dr. Kowalczyk to visit Franklin and meet with Franklin parents, staff and students to ensure a smooth transition to her new role,” Dr. Heinz noted.