District 225 hires new Glenbrook South principal, human resources director

A decidedly lighter atmosphere infused the District 225 public meeting room Tuesday evening.

Blue and yellow helium balloons bunched here and there. Goodies waiting on a back counter for the reception to come.

Protective masks were few and then discarded to reveal faces and smiles not seen for months, or years.

"Tonight," Glenbrook High Schools District 225 board President Bruce Doughty began, "is an extraordinary night for us."

The theme of Monday's board meeting was moving forward, illustrated by a video of Glenbrook North woodworking students getting their hands dirty on a national STEM project, building an electric guitar.

As board member Matt O'Hara said later: "We're talking about education again."

The board approved an ambitious consent agenda that cleared a trip to Dallas for a Business Professionals of America Leadership Competition, set up a dual-credit program with Oakton Community College, awarded $3.8 million in bids for the Total Classroom Initiative to overhaul and enhance learning space interiors, and dedicated another $940,000 toward signage and security doors for Glenbrook North and Glenbrook South.

Yes, the BPA trip includes COVID mitigations but, on the other hand, the board approved the end of the school bus mask mandate.

Board members heard a presentation on a "student success platform" that will coalesce data into a more accessible format while supporting social-emotional learning.

They reviewed Superintendent Charles Johns' report on an expansive "Goals and Initiatives" package that addresses strategic planning, communications, leadership, student well-being, teaching/learning, and facilities and finance.

Preceding all that was perhaps what Doughty felt most extraordinary about: appointments to fill two key positions.

Effective July 1, Angelica Romano will become the district's executive director for Human Resources, while on the same date Dr. Barbara Georges will take over as Glenbrook South principal.

Dr. Rosanne Williamson has served as Glenbrook South's principal on an interim basis since the resignation of Dr. Lauren Fagel on July 6, 2021. Williamson will return to her position as District 225 assistant superintendent for Educational Services.

Romano will come from West Chicago Elementary School District 33, where she's served seven years as executive director for human resources. Before that she was in human resources at Niles Township High School District 219.

Bearing a master's degree in human resources from the Keller Graduate School of Management, Romano earned a 2021-22 Administrator of the Year award by the Illinois Association of School Personnel Administrators.

Chicago native Georges, now of Arlington Heights, is in her eighth year at Grayslake Central High School as associate principal of curriculum and instruction. Before becoming an administrator, she was a science and career and technical education department chair at Grayslake Central. She also taught high school science for more than a decade at Leyden and Maine East, where she started her career in education.

Recognized among "Those Who Excel" by the Illinois State Board of Education, Georges has several degrees and endorsements from National Lewis University. She started out as a zoology student at Texas A & M.

Georges said she was "tremendously excited" to become Glenbrook South principal.

"I just felt like I was at home," she told the board.

"Every interaction that I've had with Glenbrook South over the years - I've actually been in the school numerous times in on-site visits - it has always seemed like it's just resonating with my personal philosophy of education, the comprehensive experiences that I believe are so important to meet the needs of all students," Georges told the Herald after a reception for her and Romano.

Raised in Edison Park on Chicago's Northwest Side, she attended Whitney Young.

"I credit my student experience with my viewpoint on education," Georges said. "I had moments of my academic career where I was considered gifted and bright and I was doing very well. But then there was a variety of stressors in life and things somewhat fell apart, and I had moments of significant struggle and, at times, failure.

"I think my own journey taught me that students really only achieve their complete potential when they're supported as a whole individual - not just academically, but social-emotionally, and they need good mentors."

It was suggested that now is the perfect time for that type of support.

Georges, who described herself as a "servant-leader," agreed.

"Our students are struggling. I think every organization, including District 225, did a tremendous job through the COVID crisis, but the reality is (students) have loss. They have loss of socialization, of developmental contacts and academic skills," she said.

"So I think it's incredibly critical as we move out of COVID to make sure we're caring for the whole child. And that means, not only are we closing academic gaps, but we do have to put a special focus and attention and energy into their social and emotional and mental health needs as well," she said.

"We have to take care of them as a whole person so they're able to completely achieve what their capacity was pre-COVID, and to really pursue their passions when they graduate. And to do that they have to be confident and happy and be very empowered by what they're doing."