Geneva D-304 announces its own Andrew Barrett, Algonquin D-300 Elizabeth Freeman as finalists for new superintendent

Community forum time changed, now offering live stream option

The Geneva School District 304 Board of Education invites the community, students, staff, teachers and administrators to meet the final candidates being considered for Superintendent of Schools. Elizabeth Freeman (left) and Andrew Barrett (right) will be questioned in two Community Stakeholder Forums that will run simultaneously on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023.

GENEVA – The two finalists under consideration for Geneva District 304 are Andrew Barrett, the district’s Assistant Superintendent for Learning and Teaching and Elizabeth Freeman, currently the Chief Academic Officer at Algonquin District 300, officials announced today in a news release.

Times for the community forums with Barrett and Freeman have changed and are now scheduled to run simultaneously from 4 to 4:45 p.m. today and will be live streamed for those who cannot attend in person at Geneva Middle School North, 1357 Viking Drive Geneva at Geneva Middle School South, 1415 Viking Drive, Geneva.

Students, their parents and community members are invited to attend the session at Geneva Middle School North and teachers, administrators and staff are asked to attend the session at Geneva Middle School South.

Each candidate will be interviewed individually at each school starting at 4 p.m.

Then at 5 p.m., they will switch locations and take questions again at the other location, from 5:15 to 6:15 p.m.

The search firm the district hired to aid in finding a new superintendent, Ray & Associates Inc., will moderate both forums.

Those who missed the submitted questions survey deadline last week can still submit written questions at the forums.

Barrett began in Geneva as principal at Mill Creek Elementary School from 2006 to 2011, then was Director of Learning and Teaching. He served as Director of Curriculum from 2011 to 2015 and Assistant Superintendent for Learning and Teaching from 2015 to present, according to the district’s human resources records.

Prior to working in Geneva 304, Barrett served as both a middle school administrator and an elementary classroom teacher in West Aurora School District 129, the release stated.

Barrett earned his doctoral degree in Educational Policy, Organization and Leadership at the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign and his master’s degree in Educational Administration and Leadership from Aurora University.

His post-secondary education began at Monmouth College, a small college in central Illinois, where he not only earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education, but also met his wife, Sarah, an elementary school teacher.

Barrett and his wife have one son, Theo, currently a high school sophomore.

Barrett’s personal interests include being a “baseball dad,” playing guitar, reading, and spending time with family and friends.

Freeman has served in public education for 28 years, spending 11 years as a middle school and high school teacher and 17 years as an administrator, the release stated.

Freeman has been a high school curriculum director, director of professional development, prek-8 assistant superintendent, and is currently the Chief Academic Officer at Algonquin District 300.

Freeman has a bachelor’s degree in French from Northern Illinois University and a master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction Interdisciplinary Studies from National Louis University. She earned her doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction from Loyola University, Chicago.

A published author, Freeman has written about mindfulness for educators and professional learning communities. She serves as a CODiE judge for innovative educational technology software and services, the release stated.

Freeman is a member of the National Association of School Superintendents, Illinois Principals Association, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and Phi Delta Kappa – a professional organization of women in the field of education.

Freeman lives in Woodstock with her family. In her free time she enjoys hiking with her two Boxers, gardening, wakeboarding – a water sport in which the rider, standing on a board with foot bindings and is towed behind a motorboat across its wake – and equestrian sports.

She loves traveling to see new sights and to have new experiences, the release stated.

The District 304 school board is expected to decide on a new superintendent by Jan. 31.

Superintendent Kent Mutchler is leaving the district when his contract expires June 30.

The new superintendent is to begin the next day, July 1.