Longtime District 54 Superintendent Andy DuRoss to retire in 2027

Andy DuRoss, who became superintendent of Schaumburg Township Elementary School District 54 in 2013, announced he is retiring at the end of the 2026-27 school year.

At its meeting Thursday, the board of education will consider contracting with HYA Corporation of Arlington Heights for consulting services on a superintendent search.

DuRoss said he wanted to give the board plenty of time for a thorough search and a seamless transition.

“My goal is for District 54 to remain in a position of strength, maintaining the momentum we have built together over the last decade,” he said in his statement. “I know the timing is right to begin a thoughtful transition toward a new chapter for both myself and for District 54.”

DuRoss had been with District 54 for 11 years when he succeeded Ed Rafferty as superintendent. Before that, he had served Westmont Community School District 201 for eight years.

Earlier in his tenure with District 54, DuRoss spent three years as principal of Frost Junior High School in Schaumburg — a school that wasn't performing to its potential at the start of that period, he said.

He learned what it takes to make an individual school live up to districtwide expectations — experience at least as valuable as that gained during the six years he later spent as Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources.

On becoming superintendent, he said he recognized better than ever the relationship between the district's expectations for every school and the individual identity of each.

“While my retirement is on the horizon, my focus for the next year and a half remains exactly where it has always been: on our students and our staff,” DuRoss said in his announcement. “I am committed to finishing this journey with the same energy that I brought to my first day as assistant principal at Addams Jr. High.