New administrator has two jobs in Grayslake District 46

Grayslake Elementary District 46's newest administrator will be pulling double duty.

Craig Keer's homecoming has him taking on new dual posts: assistant superintendent and instructional coach at District 46. Keer's hiring for an annual salary of $105,000 was approved by a 4-0 school board vote Thursday night.

Keer was a longtime District 46 employee and principal of Park School Campus in Round Lake when, in 2011, he resigned to take a job as head of Indian Trail Elementary School in Highland Park. Board members at North Shore School District 112 accepted Keer's resignation as Indian Trail's principal this week.

"We're very, very pleased to have him back," District 46 Superintendent Ellen Correll said.

Under the plan, Keer will split his time as District 46's assistant superintendent and instructional coach. School board President Steve Strack said as districts look to conserve money, combining certain jobs may become more common.

"With resources the way they are, we have to think that way," Strack said after Thursday's board session. "So if we have an opportunity to provide better service in the district by combing roles like that, then we'll definitely look at that and, obviously, we made the decision to do that now with Mr. Keer."

Keer worked his way up in District 46 to become principal at Park Campus when the kindergarten-through-eighth-grade building opened in 2007. Before he left in 2011, Correll credited Keer with a smooth opening of Park Campus.

Correll said hiring Keer as a combined assistant superintendent and instructional coach was a way for District 46 to continue its goal of improving while recognizing financial constraints. She had proposed a stand-alone job as assistant superintendent earlier this year.

"It's great for me," Correll said of Keer's hiring. "It's a first step toward moving our district forward."

Correll said Keer and three others hired as instructional coaches Thursday night will visit classrooms and work with teachers on strategies to help student performance.

"If you look at research, the use of instructional coaches is very high-effect," she said. "Higher than professional development, higher than lowering class size and that type of thing."

Keer, whose duties will include overseeing curriculum and examining data, was not present when the District 46 school board voted to hire him Thursday. He could not be reached for comment.

School board member David Northern said he had nothing but good experiences when he dealt with Keer as a Park Campus parent.