Donna Toops named District 57 director of student services

Mt. Prospect School District 57 has named Donna Toops to the position of director of student services. She oversees special education programs, school psychologists, nurses, 504 Plans, programs for private school students, records and other student services. She serves the District's four schools -- Westbrook School for Young Learners, Fairview and Lions Park Elementary Schools and Lincoln Middle School.

Toops comes to Mt. Prospect from District 60 in Waukegan, where she was early childhood program coordinator. She supervised the pre-K program and principals and oversaw the special education program. Prior to that, she was principal of Oliver McCracken Middle School in Skokie's District 73.5. She also has been an assistant principal, student services administrator, special education teacher and private tutor.

"My involvement in special education has been extensive and covered early childhood to middle school," Toops says. She adds that she looks forward to working with and supporting the students of District 57 and developing collaborative partnerships with their parents and the staff.

"My goal is for the student services department to assist students in accessing the general education curriculum, as well as contribute to the academic and social growth of the children we support," Toops says. "I hope to use my leadership skills to build relationships, facilitate collaboration and provide training in best practices within our district."

Dr. Elaine Aumiller, superintendent of School District 57, says Toops is a perfect fit for the District and its active special services department. "She has extensive experience from the classroom to administration, and she will be a knowledgeable and caring advocate for students who use special services and for all of our children."

Toops has gotten off to a busy start. On Sept. 27, she attended a meeting of PEPS (Parent Education and Parent Support for Special Services), where she introduced herself to the families whose children utilize special services in the District and discussed current and future programming.

She also has been meeting with private school parents and staff to support students who have disabilities and attend private schools within District 57 boundaries. And she has begun the process of making problem solving documents, such as 504 Plans, available online in order to improve communication between parents and the schools.

District 57 serves more than 2,000 pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade students in the community of Mount Prospect, preparing them to learn and succeed in a changing world.