New principal called perfect fit for the job
Dave Danielski truly sounds like the people's principal.
Kids think he's cool. Parents think he's calm. And teachers want to work with him.
That really made the choice to solidify his status at Hammerschmidt Elementary School in Lombard rather easy.
Danielski was appointed as interim principal at the school this summer and told he'd have to reapply for the job during a yearlong search process.
But a funny thing happened on the way to the application.
Parents interceded.
"After the first few weeks of school I started hearing from parents, 'Why do we need to go through all of this?'" said Jim Blanche, Lombard Elementary District 44's superintendent.
Board members recently voted to remove the word "interim" from his title.
"Dave seems to have an intuition about making decisions that are in the best interest of children -- and you can't teach people that," Blanche said.
Those skills were tested early in the school year when severe storms and a possible tornado swept through the area -- just as Hammerschmidt students were leaving for the day.
Danielski quickly and calmly shepherded students and parents back inside the building, sent students to their designated tornado preparedness areas and kept parents and children calm, said Hammerschmidt PTA President Tracy Bushka of Lombard.
"He was very calm walking the hallways making sure everyone else remained calm," she said. "Everyone walked away thinking, 'Wow, what great leadership.'"
Instead of conducting a full-scale search, Blanche announced he would consider making Danielski's appointment permanent but only after meeting with parents, teachers and the community. All heaped praise on the new principal. Blanche said he invited people to send concerns privately via e-mail, but none arrived.
Danielski, 34, worked for several years at Madison Elementary School in the district prior to the switch. He handled the summer school program this year at Hammerschmidt.
He said he didn't start out in education with a long-range dream of becoming a principal. Somewhere along the way, though, someone pointed out he'd have the chance to influence even more children.
"You can really use it as an opportunity," he said.
Board President Sandra Hill said she was happy to approve Danielski's appointment.
He knew many students' names the first week of class. Parents describe him as "kind and gentle," she said. And he doesn't waste any time tackling jobs.
When Hill asked about a tree at the school that her daughter's fifth-grade class planted in honor of the school's new construction years ago -- and whether the now-dead tree would be replaced -- Danielski said he'd look into it.
A few weeks later he called.
"He said 'I hope when your daughter comes back from college she comes to see her new tree,'" Hill said. "He didn't do it because I was the school president. He did it because it was the right thing to do and that's the kind of man he is."