Former Libertyville District 70 educator dies

Marsha Hestad, a spirited former teacher and principal in Libertyville Elementary District 70 died Tuesday of cancer.

The Northbrook resident, 61, taught gifted education from 1988 to 1991 and served as principal from 1996 to 2005 at Rockland School.

She was regarded as an enthusiastic and energetic leader who became a nationally known expert in gifted education. Former colleagues still talk about her talent and energy, and she was remembered for her back-to-school parties and handwritten notes.

“She was creative, innovative and always on the cutting edge with new instructional practices,” retired District 70 superintendent Mark Friedman said a statement from the district. Friedman had hired Hestad as principal from more than 100 candidates.

A lifelong learner, she was also known for her enjoyment of travel and being outdoors and having a general zest for life, colleagues recalled.

“She never let anything get in her way, including cancer,” said Rockland first grade teacher Cheryl Crenshaw. She recalled that Hestad went sky diving even while sick and fighting the disease.

“She was very encouraging to have us try new things and very supportive when we did,” Crenshaw said.

Hestad taught gifted education at Rockland in a program then called SOAR. She also taught language arts and literature at Highland School in 1993-94 before leaving to serve as principal at Chippewa Elementary School in Bensenville. While there she helped launch talk-show style cable television programs for students and parents.

She brought that style to Rockland where she created “Blast Off with Math and Science”, a cable show featuring students on both sides of the camera.

She also supported a national problem solving competition called Destination Imagination and was honored by then-U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk in 2006 for pioneering new levels of performance for gifted students.

“She was full of life, the most positive principal you can imagine,” according to Pat Hominick, third grade teacher at Rockland. “People here still talk about how great Marsha was. She accomplished so much but she went far too young.”

After her career in District 70, she served as director of student learning at Lake Forest District 67 for three years and retired as head of school for the Science & Arts Academy in Des Plaines.

She taught at several universities, including Loyola, Lake Forest College, Indiana State and Purdue.

She also served as president of the Illinois Association for Gifted Children and the Lake County Curriculum Resource Council, and was a board member of the Da Vinci Academy in Elgin.

She is survived by a brother, Peter Hestad of Northbrook, and a sister, Patti Kruger.