Libertyville D-70 hires 3 new administrators

LIBERTYVILLE – Three new administrators will join the Libertyville School District 70 team July 1.

During a May 23 school board meeting, board members unanimously approved promoting Adler Park Principal Kerri Bongle to become the new director of growth and talent. Board members also unanimously approved hiring Pete Theis as the new director of human resources and Chris Vipond as the new director of technology.

Bongle has been with District 70 for more than 20 years. She started as a Copeland third grade teacher in 2001 and moved to fifth grade in 2010. She was promoted to Highland Middle School assistant principal in 2011 and moved to Adler as principal in 2013.

Bongle has a love for mentoring new staff, teaching and learning, as well as focusing on student growth and maintaining a positive culture and climate, Superintendent Rebecca Jenkins said in a news release. Jenkins said Bongle will bring creative and collaborative energy to the new job.

As the new director of growth and talent, Bongle will collaborate with both the departments of curriculum and human resources to develop staff professional development and recruitment, work with data and data analysis to drive human capital decisions, work with the flow of registration between the registrar and schools and support student growth.

Theis, who is currently the director of human resources for Lake Forest School Districts 67 and 115, will replace Tom Bean, who is retiring after 39 years. Theis has worked in Lake Forest since 2020. For the previous seven years, he was the assistant superintendent for human resources for Downers Grove District 99. Theis also has served as the associate principal for curriculum and instruction in District 99, was dean of students for Glenbard East High School and worked as a middle school principal, high school dean of students and social studies teacher in Plano Community School District 88.

Excellent administrators, Theis said, are those who listen to understand, are empathetic toward the concerns and issues of their colleagues and who put the needs of others – students and staff – first.

Vipond returns to District 70 after serving two years as the director of technology with Community Consolidated School District 46 in Grayslake. He will fill in for Dmitry Andrievsky, who has taken a position with another school district. Before moving into administration, Vipond was a technology literacy coach in District 70 for six years. He also taught for four years in Waukegan Community Unit District 60 as a physical education instructor and worked for two years as an internal behavior coach for Waukegan.

Vipond has two master’s degrees from Concordia University in Chicago, one in educational technology leadership and one in Illinois principal preparation. His bachelor’s degree is in physical education from Carthage College.

A strong proponent of technology integration in the classroom, Vipond said technology can supplement the core curriculum and instruction. He also said he believes technology can play a critical role in offering differentiated and personalized instruction for students of all ages.