Superintendent – Palatine, IL

Job Description

Qualifications and Duties of District 211 Superintendent

The Board of Education invests responsibility for administration of the district to its chief executive officer and administrative staff in accordance with the purposes, policies, plans, and procedures authorized by the Board. The Board’s primary objective is to provide an excellent educational program for the students who reside within the school district. The Board shall establish policies that serve as guidelines to the administrators and professional staff.

The Superintendent is employed by the Board as its chief executive officer and is responsible for the administration and management of the District schools in accordance with School Board policies and directives, and State and federal law. The Superintendent is the professional advisor to the Board, the chief administrative officer of the school district, and the leader of the instructional staff. All meetings related to the operation of the schools within the district are his/her responsibility.

Functions of the Superintendent are:

1. Exercise full authority to administer the school district, and execute policies, programs, and plans as outlined by the Board.
2. Attend the regular and special meetings of the Board.
3. Maintain and supervise the orderly conduct of school affairs. Ensure that all constitutional and statutory laws or state regulations governing the schools are carried out. Seek legal advice when necessary.
4. Provide educational leadership for the schools.
5. Coordinate the work of all administrative departments.
6. Recommend policies to the Board for improvement of the school system and its educational service to the students and the communities served.
7. Apprise the Board of significant matters which arise within the school district, as well as on matters relating to the operation of the schools including finance, facilities, curriculum, teachers, and students.
8. Support communication programs with our service organizations.
9. Support involvement of parent and community organizations in fulfilling the mission of District 211.
10. Recommend to the Board the hiring, continued employment, or dismissal of all professional and non-professional employees of the school district.

District 211

Township High School District 211 (D211) is seeking an exceptional leader to become the next superintendent beginning July 1, 2025, following the retirement of Dr. Lisa Small. The District’s mission is to provide relevant and rigorous learning experiences, opportunities for involvement and strong support systems that empower all students to reach their full potential.

Governed by a seven-member Board, Township High School District 211 is one of the largest high school districts in the state with nearly 12,000 students in five high schools and two alternative schools. District 211 is located about 25 miles northwest of Chicago and serves the communities of Hoffman Estates, Inverness, Palatine and Schaumburg, and parts of Arlington Heights, Elk Grove Village, Hanover Park, Rolling Meadows, Roselle, Streamwood, and South Barrington.

District 211’s five nationally recognized high schools serving grades 9 through 12 are: James B. Conant (located in Hoffman Estates), William Fremd (located in Palatine), and Hoffman Estates, Palatine, and Schaumburg High Schools. District 211’s alternative schools are District 211 North Campus (located in Palatine) and District 211 Higgins Education Center (located in Hoffman Estates). These alternative schools provide a variety of programs.

District 211 recently was named one of the “Most Envied School Districts in the U.S.” by Test Prep Insight – one of only 10 Illinois school systems to be included on the list. Additionally, NICHE ranked the District among the top 10 Best School Districts in Illinois in 2024.

In line with its mission, each of the District’s five high schools provide a comprehensive curriculum with more than 700 academic courses (including 35 Advanced Placement courses and 64 dual credit courses) and a Career Pathways program that allows for the exploration of careers through specialized coursework, career treks, offsite learning experiences, and opportunities to earn career credentials and early college credit in areas ranging from nursing and early childhood education to manufacturing and building construction.

Each school offers more than 30 interscholastic sports as well as dozens of clubs and activities to encourage a sense of belonging for every student.

Equity

District 211 has a strong history of valuing and integrating equity within the daily interactions of students, staff and parents. Equity as a whole is deeply rooted in the 5-Year Strategic Plan. The District 211 Equity Team, which includes staff and students, works to ensure everyone understands and responds to the ever-changing needs within the schools and our world. The District believes equity is most effectively demonstrated as a mindset toward every facet of the educational experience. To guide this, the District created a series of value statements to describe the school environment through the experience of students, staff and our organization as a whole:

• Students: All students can learn at the highest levels when all staff ensure access, opportunity and support. All students must receive individualized support that is both encouraging and empowering. All students deserve to feel safe, welcomed and valued in our schools, both individually and collectively.
• Staff: All staff are aware of the potential effect of their background, mindsets and biases in the classroom. All staff approach educational equity with a growth mindset and are open to participating in crucial conversations regarding equity. All staff are empowered to identify and eliminate inequities, barriers and past practices that potentially lead to opportunity or achievement gaps.
• Organization: We strive to intentionally develop systems that ensure access, opportunity and individualized support for all students. We strive to foster school environments where students feel a connection and a sense of belonging. We strive to implement ongoing analysis, assessment and evaluation of our systems for the purpose of continual improvement.

Wellness

The physical, mental, and social wellbeing of District 211 students is also of significant importance to the organization and driven by a District Wellness Team.

Each school has a Student Services department with a full complement of counselors, social workers, and school psychologists who work collaboratively with students, families and local resources to ensure the social-emotional health of students.

District 211 also provides a comprehensive wellness curriculum, which integrates both health and physical fitness into rigorous coursework. The wellness curriculum includes topics such as: decision-making, fitness concepts, social-emotional health, and nutrition.

Economic Condition and Outlook

The economic outlook for the District 211 communities remains stable amid a time of high inflationary costs. The financial, commercial, and industrial businesses represent a broad diversity in the area, and have withstood difficulties in any one area. The District has been debt-free since 2017 and has committed to maintaining this status as long as economic conditions allow. Financial projections point toward financial stability over the next five years, despite budget deficits primarily resulting from the payment of major facility improvement projects.

Awards/Recognitions

Each of the District’s five high schools has been recognized for excellence with the United States Department of Education’s National Secondary School Recognition Program’s Blue Ribbon Award.

The District’s five high schools were named among the nation’s Top 15% of High Schools within the state of Illinois, as well as the nation by U.S. News & World Report.

District 211 schools have a tradition of excellence, service and leadership. Annually, the Board of Education recognizes students for perfect ACT and SAT scores; winners of Congressional App Design Challenge; National Merit Scholars; and top state accolades in sports and the arts.

More than 130 District 211 educators have achieved National Board Certification.

Staff also are recognized each year by the Illinois State Board of Education’s “Those Who Excel” program for excellence in education and working with students.

Individually, teachers have excelled with state and national awards in the areas of Project Lead the Way, mathematics, art, debate and business education.

For the seventeenth year, the Association of School Business Officials International recognized Township High School District 211 with the Certificate of Excellence in Finance Reporting Award for demonstrating high standards and best practices for financial reporting and accountability.

In Summary

Through collaboration, innovation and partnerships fostered with higher education institutions, alumni – many of whom return to teach in District 211 schools – and business leaders, the District has created a pipeline for postsecondary success.

Application deadline: Friday, September 6.

This will be a confidential search. Residency is preferred but not required. Salary and benefits will be regionally competitive. A doctorate is preferred but not required.

The Board anticipates conducting initial interviews virtually late September 2024. In-person final candidate interviews will be conducted early October with the target for hiring the Superintendent and public announcement mid-October.

For additional information on District 211 visit Superintendent Search / Superintendent Search (d211.org).

How to apply for this job?

1. Register for an account on the HYA website. Or, log in to the HYA website if you already have an account created. Click the Login/Register button at the top of the page to get started.
2. After logging in, click the Apply Now button at the top of this page.
3. You will be redirected to the Frontline Education website. This website is where you will submit your application. This website also will require its own unique login and password.

PLEASE INCLUDE IN YOUR FRONTLINE APPLICATION:

1. Cover letter (stating interest and unique qualifications for the position) – be sure to save the name of the district in the document title
2. Full resume/vitae
3. Three current letters of recommendation
4. Copy of Superintendent license (regardless of state) or evidence of eligibility for Superintendent license
5. Contact information of three additional references different than the reference letters which includes titles, cell phone, and email addresses who can be contacted immediately