Adler Park principal set to retire
Libertyville Elementary District 70's Adler Park Principal Janet Brownlie will retire at the end of the school year after leading the district's smallest elementary school for 22 years.
Brownlie, who has been a school administrator for 23 years, said she is stepping down to spend more time with her family.
A highly visible principal who turned the school into a warm, welcoming home away from home for students and teachers, Brownlie is the veteran principal in the district and has generously mentored others, including Butterfield Principal Candice Kehoe. She currently mentors teachers through Kendall College and is a "mentoring principal" through the state of Illinois Mentoring Program.
She is known for making time to talk with students and encourage them to become lifelong learners, and is a supportive leader for her teachers who tend to spend their careers at the school on the north end of town. And through two decades, parents have strongly endorsed her leadership.
A retirement reception was held for Brownlie on May 19. Throughout the village, parents posted "Thank you, Principal Brownlie" signs, which were moved to the school last week.
Under Brownlie's leadership, Adler Park School twice won the Blue Ribbon Award of Excellence. She also was named Principal of the Year for Lake County.
"We have been fortunate to be recognized with numerous awards and recognitions both as a school and a district," Brownlie said. "Those are certainly moments to be proud of. However, in the end, it's not those accomplishments that matter the most, but the teamwork and the partnerships formed that helped us get there."
Her final year in the district was bittersweet as she brings an illustrious career to a close.
"What I will miss is the Adler family. The parents are friends, the staff is "family," and where else can you start your day and end your day with hugs from the children?"
Brownlie joined District 70 in 1987 as an assistant principal for Butterfield School. Before coming to Libertyville, she was a Wheeling District 21 teacher in kindergarten, first and third grades. She has an administrative degree from Northern Illinois University, a master's degree in Guidance and Counseling from Northeastern Illinois University and a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Southern Illinois University. She and her husband, Jim, raised their family in Libertyville.