Larkin High names new principal

Elgin Area School District U-46 has selected an insider to replace outgoing Larkin Principal Richard Webb.

Jon Tuin, currently South Elgin High's assistant principal, will take the helm of the west Elgin school next fall.

Superintendent Jose Torres, who announced the move at a Wednesday staff meeting, said Tuin would bring a "fresh perspective" to the school.

In January, Torres informed Webb, along with a dozen Larkin administrators, that they would be let go from their positions at the end of the school year.

Besides its failure to meet state standards in reading and math for the past six years, Torres said Larkin was in need of a culture change.

Tuin began working in U-46 in 1985, before moving to Berlin, Germany in 1990. He returned to the district in 1995. He holds a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Loyola University, a master's degree in education and counseling from Northern Illinois University, and a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Wheaton College. He was Kane County's Administrator of the Year in 2007.

"I am excited to roll up my sleeves, and stand beside many caring and competent teachers and staff members at Larkin as we aim toward academic excellence," Tuin said in a news release. "I believe strongly that Larkin can be a place where all students can thrive. If I didn't believe that completely, I would not have taken this position."