River Trails District 26 superintendent stepping down at end of school year
Nancy Wagner, superintendent of Mount Prospect-based River Trails Elementary School District 26, will resign at the end of the school year, the district announced Wednesday.
The district's board of education formally accepted Wagner's resignation at a special meeting Tuesday and will immediately begin a search for her successor.
"For the past five years, it has been my honor and privilege to serve this district," Wagner, who plans to retire at the end of 2022, wrote in a letter to the community. "Joining the River Trails family was a dream come true and it has been nothing less than a remarkable experience."
Wagner has served District 26 superintendent since 2017. Prior to that, she spent three years as superintendent for Beach Park School District 3 in Lake County.
Her career in education spans more than three decades and includes experience as a teacher, assistant principal, principal and assistant superintendent.
During her tenure at River Trails, Wagner helped lead the planning, renovation and opening of Prairie Trails School, the district's net-zero energy school for kindergarten and prekindergarten students, officials said.
Other accomplishments, according to the announcement, include developing a strategic plan that focuses curriculum on creating "life ready learners and leaders"; increasing focus on equity, which included engaging in an equity audit and the formation of a District Equity Leadership Team; implementing a program that served hundreds of thousands of free meals to the community during the pandemic; expanding programs and strategies that support and promote the social-emotional well-being of students and staff; and establishing an accomplished and experienced leadership team to replace multiple retiring administrators.
"We thank Dr. Wagner for her five years of dedication and service to the River Trails District 26 community," school board President William Grimpe said in Wednesday's announcement. "The board is sad to see her leave, but is grateful for her leadership and congratulates her on a tremendous career in education. We look forward to working with Dr. Wagner for the remainder of the school year and beginning the process of finding a highly qualified successor."
Details about the district's search for the next superintendent will be shared with the community in the coming weeks and throughout the process, officials said.