Mr. Jaime Cadengo was named as Principal of Ellis Middle School in the summer of 2021, bringing with him more than 20 years of district-level administrator experience. He had previously served as the Assistant Principal at Kimball Middle School since 2013, where he oversaw a number of operations, staff evaluations and master scheduling during his tenure. 

Prior to joining U-46, Mr. Cadengo served as an assistant principal at Jacobs High School in Community Unit District 300 and at Auburn High School in Rockford School District 205. From 2001 to 2003, Mr. Cadengo served as the bilingual director of Community Unit School District 100 in Belvidere. 

Mr. Cadengo is bilingual and has a history of working collaboratively with others and always with students' best interests in mind. He communicates clearly both verbally and in writing. He has served on the Kimball Middle School’s School Improvement Planning team in addition to leading implementation of other programs such as AVID and PBIS. 

Mr. Cadengo earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Northern Illinois University, and attended National-Louis University in Evanston for his Masters of Arts in curriculum and instruction.