Five Elmhurst District 205 schools have new leadership

ELMHURST – Elmhurst School District 205 has made several changes in staffing for the upcoming 2017-2018 school year, including appointing five new elementary school principals.

Three of the new principals were appointed by the Board of Education on Jan. 24: Michelle Thompson for Emerson Elementary School, Christine Trendel for Jackson Elementary School and Jennifer Barnabee for Lincoln Elementary School.

Thompson, the new principal for Emerson, was a teacher, instructional coach and assistant principal at schools in Schaumburg District 54 over her 12 years of experience there. For the last four years, she served as assistant principal at both Enders-Salk Elementary School and the District 54 MacArthur International Spanish Academy. She has DuFour training in professional learning communities.

Trendel, Jackson’s new principal, has served as assistant principal of Mill Street Elementary School in Naperville School District 203 for the past three years. She has experience with special education issues, a Spanish dual language program and leadership of professional development for teachers and administrators.

Barnabee, the new leader of Lincoln Elementary School, served as principal at Countryside Elementary School in Barrington School District 220 for the past two years. Countryside Elementary School received Blue Ribbon status in 2016. Barnabee was also named a 2016 Apple Distinguished Educator for using technology to transform teaching, according to a District 205 news release.

On May 9, the Board of Education confirmed Heidi Thomas as the new principal of Field Elementary School and Tim Riordan as the new principal of Hawthorne Elementary School.

Thomas was an assistant principal at Elk Grove Village School District 59’s Rupley Elementary School for three years and a teacher at District 59’s Forest View Elementary School for 10 years.

Riordan, who was the assistant principal at Hawthorne and Lincoln in the 2016-2017 school year, replaced Hawthorne’s last principal, Nikki Tammaru, who is District 205’s new director of literacy. Riordan taught at East Maine School District 63’s Melzer Elementary School for four years and led teacher teams in the use of data to monitor and support students’ academic, social and emotional growth.