The Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 Board of Education at its June 8 meeting confirmed the appointment of Katherine (Katie) Kelly as principal of Field School effective July 1. Kelly currently is assistant principal at the school, a post she has held for six years. Previously, she was an intermediate grade teacher at Roosevelt School for three years. She taught in Evergreen Park and in Ireland earlier in her career.
“Mrs. Kelly was a clear front-runner in the selection process, based on her outstanding leadership as assistant principal, including two months-long stints as interim principal,” according to Superintendent Laurie Heinz. “Her warmth and empathy coupled with her collaborative and inclusive leadership style have helped her forge strong bonds with staff, parents and students,” she added.
Dr. Heinz also noted that Kelly’s deep background in reading and English language arts makes her “an outstanding instructional leader as we continue to transition to the Common Core standards. We have no doubt that Mrs. Kelly and our Field School community will enjoy a seamless transition moving into the new school year,” Dr. Heinz concluded.
During her nine years with District 64, Kelly has been actively involved in leadership roles, most recently joining the District’s new Mastery Learning Committee. She has been a member of the Reading Committee since 2007, and is co-coordinator of the District’s outdoor education program for grade 5 students. Kelly has worked to improve safety conditions around Field as a member of the District-wide Traffic Safety Committee. She also helped develop implementation plans for the technology strand of the 2010-15 Strategic Plan and facilitated a teacher group working to prioritize the new English Language Arts Common Core standards. As a teacher, she served as a team leader for her grade level.
Kelly is a graduate of the University of Illinois and holds a master’s degree in school leadership from Concordia University.
Dr. Heinz selected Kelly from an initial pool of 24 candidates through a multi-step process, which culminated in finalist interviews with a team of Field School teachers, staff and parent representatives joined by District 64 administrators.