Developers of an NIU initiative that empowers K-12 students with rigorous and inclusive learning in the era of artificial intelligence took their message April 7 to a key audience. Aspiring superintendents. NIU College of Education faculty Eric Junco and Razak Dwomoh were
Read moreU-46 administrators share stories, take questions from aspiring superintendents
Members of the School District U-46 leadership team were front and center Sept. 30 for the latest Aspiring Superintendents Forum. Launched in 2021 by NIU Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations Associate Professor Ben Creed and Clinical Assistant Professor Lynn Gibson,
Read moreTorch lit, stoked, passed: Surbers retire from leadership of principal preparation
Wedding invitations. Birth announcements. Helpful conversations on choosing the perfect mother-of-the-groom dress. For Jim and Becky Surber, the longtime and now-retired coordinators of the NIU College of Education’s M.S.Ed. in Educational Administration – known colloquially as “principal preparation” – these little slices
Read moreDouble-alum Maurice McDavid readies Mitchell Elementary School for launch
DeKalb grew Maurice McDavid from the ground up. Born and raised in the Barb City, he called the Eden’s Garden neighborhood home. He spent kindergarten at Lincoln Elementary School, transferred to Tyler for first- and second-grades and completed third- and fourth-grades at
Read moreResearcher Rachel White presents work to NIU Aspiring Superintendents Forum
Research avenues that examine the superintendency are limitless – and winding. Just ask Rachel White. “When I ask a question, I think I’m going to find an answer,” White told about three dozen aspiring superintendents enrolled in NIU Ed.S. in Educational Administration
Read moreShine on! Two alumnae named finalists for Chicago-area Golden Apple awards
One dreamed of teaching art but eventually decided that she would not pursue that goal – until, well, she did. The other wanted to work as a print journalist, and even did so for a while, but ultimately realized that she needed
Read moreYear 14: Double-alum Jason Dietz savors role as Sundling Middle School principal
When Jason Dietz started teaching fourth-grade, he immediately thought that he’d found his forever home. The place was Mundelein, the year was 1998 and Dietz had just completed a fresh-out-of-college stint working in a middle school as a program assistant for special
Read moreFour-time alumna Monica Schroeder ready, eager to become North Shore 112’s first Latina superintendent July 1, 2026
Monica Schroeder grew up attending a private school in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago and then parochial and public schools in north-suburban Skokie. She was a first-generation American with bilingual parents who immigrated to this country as teens; her father, Raul
Read moreAspiring Superintendents Forum offers tips for gaining, thriving in leader roles
How do superintendents establish good working relationships with the school boards they serve? How do they prioritize their to-do lists? How do they continue their professional development while on the job – or tend to their personal well-being? Such questions and more
Read moreA person in the world: Educate Global students transformed by Indonesia visit
Nicholas Koronkiewicz was born and raised in Bolingbrook, the only place he’s called home. Just coming to the cornfields of DeKalb as a transfer student in the Department of Computer Science supplied some stranger-in-a-strange-land sensations for suburban Koronkiewicz, who soon declared a
Read moreEd.S. student Bridget Belcastro named Illinois Elementary Principal of the Year
Bridget Belcastro can’t forget the conversation. She was majoring in English at NIU, eager to become a teacher, and heard something thoroughly laughable as she and some classmates carpooled to Jefferson High School in Rockford. “I was a junior or a senior
Read moreTriple-alumna Jodi Megerle thriving in River Trails 26
Jodi Megerle is passionate about River Trails Elementary School District 26. “I love the size. I love that it’s so very close-knit,” says Megerle, a three-time NIU College of Education alumna. “Even when I was hired, and when we hire new teachers
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