RMHS principal moving to central D214 office

Charles Johns, principal of Rolling Meadows High School, will become director of alternative programs for Township High School District 214, the district announced Friday.

Johns' new position is a combination of existing and new administrative positions.

He will replace the departing Michael O'Brien as director of Vanguard School, an alternative high school.

The new part of the job includes providing instructional leadership to the Young Adult Program (night school), the deans, and the Response to Intervention coordinators.

Response to Intervention is a national program to track student progress and skills more closely than before, said Johns, as well as a system of providing support for those who need it.

The move, effective July 1, is a promotion, said Superintendent David Schuler, although Johns' salary remains the same because all of the associate superintendents and principals are at the same pay grade level.

“I reached out to Charles about a week or week and a half ago,” said Schuler.

“The Rolling Meadows Response to Intervention is recognized throughout the state,” Schuler said, adding the young adult program is housed in Rolling Meadows High School, and that Johns is a former dean.

“When we decided to restructure and establish a director of alternative programs, he fits every one of these areas.”

Johns has been Rolling Meadows principal since 2004, and before that was associate principal for five years. He was an English teacher then a dean at Elk Grove High School.

Johns' most visible accomplishment at Rolling Meadows High School is the Response to Intervention program, which became a model for such programs throughout the state and the country. More than 1,000 people have come from all over the country to see how it functions, said Johns.

He also is pleased with growth that students have shown in testing.

After 20 years as a building administrator Johns sees the new position as a way to keep growing professionally.

“I can use my passions and abilities to work to ensure that all District 214 students have the skills and knowledge to be successful academically and in their lives,” he said in a statement from the district.

“I have truly appreciated my time with the Rolling Meadows High School community and the great successes that we've accomplished.”

O'Brien has decided to pursue other opportunities, Schuler said. The search for a new Rolling Meadows principal will start immediately, the news release said.