Williamson caps 20-year career with Glenbrook District 225

After 20 years in Glenbrook High School District 225, Rosanne Williamson attended her last school board meeting on June 6.

She is retiring as the district's assistant superintendent for educational services, a role she has held since the fall of 2009.

Williamson and her partner, Gary, are restoring a farmhouse on 11 acres in Galena.

"I'll keep a home in the area, but we have a small hobby farm out by Galena so we'll be spending some time out there, rehabbing an old homestead from the 1860s," Williamson told the Herald.

Gary has the carpentry background, Williamson the green thumb. She'll be in the garden, growing vegetables and such, harvesting and then cooking them at the old estate. They found a nickel dated 1868 while rehabbing the place.

It sounds like a lot of work. She has embraced that since joining the district as Glenbrook North's associate principal for curriculum and instruction in 2003. She also has served as school board secretary and participated on several regional and national boards and associations.

"I certainly relied on her for her vast knowledge of this community and how we've done things throughout the years. She was wise counsel more times than I could count," District 225 Superintendent Charles Johns said at the June 6 meeting.

Williamson, who started out as a science teacher in Gary, Indiana, took over as Glenbrook South's principal for the 2021-22 school year.

After former Principal Lauren Fagel resigned, Williamson on July 6, 2021, was appointed interim principal for the COVID-affected term until the district hired Barbara Georges for the job starting this school year.

School board President Bruce Doughty credited Williamson for her professionalism and being a role model for administrators, board members, and the community.

"I will really miss the people and the staff in the buildings," Williamson said. "They're really what make the district run."