School District U-46 Hosts Twelfth Annual ‘Principal for a Day’ Event

Dec. 4, 2019

The state’s second largest school district will once again open school doors and invite community leaders to learn more about the inner workings of running a school during the 12th annual School District U-46 Principal for a Day event on Friday. The event gives more than 60 local leaders an opportunity to see firsthand how principals guide school teams to meet the academic, social, and emotional goals for each student.

Participating guest principals include local leaders representing chambers of commerce, state and local elected officials, police and fire departments, and leaders in the areas of medicine, finance, business and education. The U-46 team welcomes guest principals to return to schools and build long-term partnerships that will support each school’s priorities and goals. Guest principals, for example, might sponsor a school activity, mentor and tutor, host a field trip or provide an internship for a high school student to explore a career of interest.

"Strong public schools enable communities to thrive, and strong community support helps schools and students to thrive," said Tony Sanders, CEO of School District U-46. "While we host one Principal for a Day event each year, we welcome community partnerships and relationships year-round."

Each year the District aims to invite new community leaders to the event; 36 of the 62 guest principals are new to the role this year. Representatives from Side Street Studio Arts and Bartlett Chamber of Commerce are among the new participants.

Side Street Studio Arts offers a program called “Community Moves,” that helps children find their voice through artistic expression. The organization, based in Elgin, also provides on-site after-school programming for our young student artists.

“I am excited to visit with the U-46 school team and students,” said Side Street Studio Arts Executive Director Tanner Melvin. “Together we can help build the foundation for our youth to become well-rounded and responsible citizens.”

Bartlett Area Chamber President Nanette Gudenkauf wants to bring awareness of career opportunities available through local businesses.

“Principal for a Day is the perfect opportunity to form a stronger connection with U-46, which is why I am thrilled to be involved with this event,” said Gudenkauf. “We share a common value of wanting students to succeed.”

To conclude the Principal for a Day event, the guests will convene for a luncheon sponsored by Marco, a leading technology services provider, at Villa Olivia in Bartlett. The featured speaker, Illinois State Board of Education Chair Darren Reisberg, will address state education initiatives during the luncheon. Mr. Reisberg had previously served as the general counsel and deputy superintendent of the ISBE between 2005 and 2012. He is currently the vice president of programs and strategy at the Joyce Foundation, a nonpartisan private foundation that invests in public policies and strategies to advance racial equity and economic mobility for the people in the Great Lakes region.

WHO: Community leaders, U-46 schools.

WHAT: Community leaders will visit schools to serve as a “Principal for a Day.”

WHEN: Friday, Dec. 6.
8 a.m. to noon - Guest principals at U-46 schools.
Noon to 2 p.m. - Luncheon at Villa Olivia, 1401 W. Lake St., Bartlett.

PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: Available at schools all morning.

Reporters who want to cover or photograph the event, please RSVP with Mary Fergus at MaryFergus@u-46.org.

Below is a chart that outlines which community leaders will serve at which school.

School	Principal	Principal for a Day	Organization	Principal for a Day	Organization
Abbott M.S.	Kathy Davis	Anna Lalley	Elgin Police Department
Bartlett Elem.	John Signatur	Laura Czarnecki	Village of Carol Stream
Bartlett H.S.	Mike Demovksy	Nanette Gudenkauf	Bartlett Area Chamber of Commerce	Danny Malouf	HARTING, Inc. of North America
Canton M.S.	Jeffrey Smith	Eric Pagels	Streamwood Police Department
Centennial Elem.	Sarah N. Rabe	Patrick Ullrich	Bartlett Police Department
Central School Programs	Tracy Morton	Tameron Keeffe	Family Service Association of Greater Elgin
Century Oaks Elem.	Dr. Andrea Erickson	Tish Powell	City of Elgin
Channing Elem.	Josefina Melendez	Debra Marton	Comcast
Clinton Elem.	John Oliver	Karina Villa	State Representative 49th House
Coleman Elem.	Brian Stark	Scott Vanderlee	Midwest Transit Equipment
Creekside Elem.	Joel Pollack	Darren Reisberg	Illinois State Board of Education
Dream Academy	Krystal Bush	Dr. David Sam	Elgin Community College
Eastview M.S.	Donald Donner	William Gabrenya	Bartlett Fire Department
Elgin H.S.	Krystal J. Thomas	Dr. Nikki Fennern	Judson University
Ellis M.S.	Yvette G. Gonzalez- Collins	Mary Perkins	Elgin Community College
Fox Meadow Elem.	Sjoukje Brown	Elisa Lara	VNA Health Care
Garfield Elem.	Dr. Kyle D. Bunker	Tanner Melvin	Side Street Studio Arts	Melissa Owens	U-46 Board of Education
Glenbrook Elem.	Cheryl DeRoo	Velma Sept	U-46 African American Advisory Council
Hanover Countryside.	Harold Shepherd	Michelle Mussman	State Representative 56th House
Harriet Gifford Elem.	Joe Corcoran	Maggie Sifuentes	Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois
Hawk Hollow Elem.	Noelle Dupuis	Brandi Ramundo	Wayne Township
Heritage Elem.	Catherine Fletcher	Ilir Sako	Horace Mann
Highland Elem.	Steve Johnson	Sue Kerr	U-46 Board of Education
Hillcrest Elem.	Teresa Winters	Robert Cox	RCDC Services
Hilltop Elem.	Dr. Kyle VonSchnase	Angi Cholewa	Alignment Collaborative for Education
Horizon Elem.	Jennifer Schwardt	Sharmin Shahjahan	Village of Hanover Park
Huff Elem.	Dr. Angelica Ernst	Alex Quigley	City of Elgin
Illinois Park	Apryl Lowe	Larry Bury	U-46 Citizens' Advisory Council
Independence	Lisa Bergbreiter	Dawn Curran	U-46 Educational Foundation
Kenyon Woods M.S.	Lisa Olsem	Kelly Quinn	Three Fires Council, Boy Scouts of America
Kimball M.S.	Charlotte Coleman	Rose Martinez	City of Elgin
Larkin H.S.	Jamie Crosen	Vince Coyle	Kane County State's Attorney Office
Larsen M.S.	Gina Crespo	Tim Sgutt		Eva Porter	U-46 Board of Education
Laurel Hill Elem.	Maria A. Lopez	Dennis Mondero	Chinese Mutual Aid Association
Liberty Elem.	Stephanie Sylvester	Denise Maiz	Bartlett Fire District
Lincoln Elem.	Abbie Eklund	Veronica Medrano	U-46 Bilingual Parent Advisory Committee
Lords Park Elem.	Noe Velazquez	Carrie Frost	Anderson Animal Shelter
Lowrie Elem.	Tiffany Robinson	Emma Eschenfeldt	Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois
McKinley Elem.	Juan Lira	Rick Reigner	The Salvation Army
More at Four	Angela Gallegos	Amber Peters	Elgin Partnership for Early Learning
Nature Ridge Elem.	Cyndi S. Aleman	Diane Pappas	State Representative 45th House
Oakhill Elem.	Laura Alegria	Kari Christensen	Elgin Youth Symphony Orchestra
Ontarioville Elem.	Dr. Elizabeth Ma	Monika Gadek-Stephan	ECC Education & Work Center in Hanover Park
Otter Creek Elem.	David Aleman	Heather Weiss	DUTU
Parkwood Elem.	Ana Arroyo	Herb Porter	Village of Hanover Park
Prairieview Elem.	Paul Flatley	Fiona Cummings	Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois
Ridge Circle Elem.	Janelle Raine	Andrea Fox	Image Design Marketing
Ronald D. O'Neal Elem.	Marcie Marzullo	Margaret Frisch Klein	Congregation Kneseth Israel
South Elgin H.S.	Brian Moran	Kevin Wallace	Village of Bartlett	Peter Sikorski	Get Fresh Produce
Spring Trail Elem.	Amy Kendryna	Stephen Schmidt	Carol Stream Police Department
Streamwood H.S.	Jennifer Van Deusen	Dr. Gene Crume	Judson University
Sunnydale Elem.	Dr. Maria Valdovinos- Bhatia	Fanny Diego Alvarez	Grand Victoria Foundation
Sycamore Trails Elem.	Lisa Cardenas	Victoria Anderson	Bartlett Police Department
Tefft M.S.	Luis Fernando DeLeon	Michael Schwartz	Streamwood Police Department
Timber Trails Elem.	Dr. Elisa Biancalana	Samantha Allowy	Lazarus House
Washington Elem.	Lori Brandes	Joy Pak	Chinese Mutual Aid Association
Wayne Elem.	Adam Zurko	Martin McManamon	Wayne Township Road District
Willard Elem.	Dustin Covarrubias	Sara Sabo	Gail Borden Public Library