Principals named at Aurora, Naperville schools

By Kristy Kennedy

Daily Herald correspondent

Indian Prairie School District 204 didn’t look far in hiring new principals for Steck and Clow elementary schools and filling a renamed administrative position.

All three positions were filled by District 204 employees.

“It’s always nice to have great employees in our district move up to new positions,” said Superintendent Kathy Birkett before the school board Monday night unanimously approved the appointments.

The two new principals — Elizabeth Pohlmann for Steck in Aurora and Sarah Nowak for Clow in Naperville — both come from Crone Middle School, where they currently work as assistant principals. Their appointments will become official July 1.

At Crone, Pohlmann manages student discipline, staff development, school improvement planning, assessments and building operations. Meanwhile, Nowak oversees transition services for sixth and eighth graders as they enter and exit middle school, transportation, staff development, instructional leadership, student data and implementing interventions to help students with needs.

The outgoing principal at Steck, Kerry Merrill, is retiring, while the principal at Clow, Barbara Kaufman, is moving to a classroom position.

The board also appointed Kathleen Kosteck to the renamed position of director of integrated services. Kosteck currently serves as principal of Scullen Middle School and is replacing the retiring Diane Fleischel, director of student services.

The student services position used to oversee special education, but now involves overseeing programs and staff of both the special and regular education departments as they have become more integrated. The expanded role called for a change in the position’s title, Birkett said.

Kosteck has a background in special education as a former assistant principal at Gregory Middle School where she oversaw the student services department. She also was the secondary special education coordinator of programs for the Kendall County Special Education Cooperative. Kosteck has a master’s degree in special education with a concentration in administration.