Joseph Shoffner Joins the UIC Leadership Coaching Team
We would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest Leadership Coach and UIC EdD alumni, Dr. Joseph Shoffner (Cohort 7). Shoffner joins the UIC coaching faculty with a wealth of experience. Over his 13 years in school leadership, Shoffner earned a reputation as a principal who could develop and sustain an academic culture of continuous improvement. His leadership journey began as an assistant principal at Talman Elementary and also as a principal Intern at The Chicago Agricultural High School. However, Dr. Shoffner gained much of his leadership experience at McClellan, a school he served as principal for 9 years. When Shoffner took the principalship at McClellan, a neighborhood school, the school was given the lowest performance designation from CPS in the prior year. Within a few years, Shoffner and his colleagues helped move McClellan to the highest possible rating. Under Shoffner’s leadership, McClellan maintained the highest possible status over the last four years. We are excited to have Joe join the leadership coaching team to provide targeted direct service to our novice and aspiring leaders.
Peggy Korellis Named Associate Vice Chancellor of Early College, and in addition, President of Harold Washington College
Dr. Peggy Korellis (Cohort 3) has served in a variety of progressively responsible roles at the City Colleges of Chicago over the last six years, including Dean of Education, Human and Natural Sciences, Acting President, Interim Vice President at Truman College, and now as the Associate Vice Chancellor of Early College and President of Harold Washington College. Prior to beginning at City Colleges of Chicago, Dr. Korellis served in K-12 education for 20 years, including 15 years at the Chicago Public Schools in roles such as Reading Teacher, Reading Coach, Assistant Principal of Corliss High School, and founding Principal of TEAM Englewood Community Academy High School, where she served for five years.
Under her leadership at TEAM Englewood, TEAM had freshmen on-track rates and 5-year graduation rates of over 80%. Her first two graduating classes had 60% college attendance and 74% college attendance, respectively. She left TEAM to serve as Deputy Chief of the South Side Network and then transitioned to the City Colleges of Chicago. Her current roles as Associate Vice Chancellor of Early College and President of Harold Washington College allows her to combine her passion for both secondary and post-secondary students and to help more of Chicago’s most deserving students gain access to college credits, thus paving the way to likelier college transition and completion.
Patrick Baccellieri Named District Support Consultant at the Holdsworth Center
Dr. Patrick Baccellieri (Cohort 1) was selected by the search committee to serve as a District Support Consultant at the Holdsworth Center. In this role, Pat supports senior District leaders to develop a strategic approach to their leadership pipeline, including assessing their current approach, identifying gaps, recommending solutions, and supporting the implementation of those solutions.The Holdsworth Center is a non-profit organization founded and largely funded by Charles Butt, Chairman & CEO of H-E-B Grocery Company. Based in Austin, Texas, the academic campus and its programs were developed to honor Charles’ mother, Mary Elizabeth Holdsworth Butt, who was an educator, a philanthropist, and a lifelong champion for social justice. The mission of the Holdsworth Center is to strengthen public schools and improve student outcomes across the state of Texas by strengthening educational leadership across the state. Holdsworth works in partnership with public school districts to tackle the toughest challenges around leadership development, pipeline planning, and strategic talent management.Pat brings over 30 years of service in education as a teacher, principal, and district administrator and is excited for the opportunity to improve student outcomes for ALL students.
Angel Turner Appointed Senior Director of Curriculum and Assessment for the Accelerate Institute
Dr. Angel Turner (Cohort 6) is entering her 20th year in education with 14 years of experience as a school leader. Before joining the Curriculum and Assessment team at Accelerate Institute, she served for three years as principal of Morton School of Excellence in the city’s East Garfield Park neighborhood. She also previously worked as the Director of School Leadership for AUSL, where she coached and supported school leaders at two turnaround high schools and five elementary schools by fostering an intense focus on instructional delivery and leadership development.
Hoover-Schrum (#157) School Board Selects Dwayne Evans as Superintendent of Schools
The Hoover-Schrum School Board has voted Dr. Dwayne Evans (Cohort 1) as the next Superintendent of District #157. Evans is a veteran educator with nearly 25 years of school leadership experience. His school leadership journey began at Hales Franciscan High School where he served in a variety of capacities including: Principal, Dean, and Athletic Director for a combined 6 years. Following his tenure at Hales Franciscan, Evans served as the Principal of Proviso East High School for 3 years. Dr. Evans gained much of his school leadership experience as the Principal of Thornton Fractional North High School, a position he held for the past 15 years.
Keith Adams Appointed Principal of Kelvyn Park High School
Dr. Keith Adams (Cohort 13) will lead Kelvyn Park High School. Since 2010, Adams has served Benito Juárez Academy High School in a variety of capacities: as a Science Teacher, as a Resident Principal, and as an Assistant Principal. Under Adams’ leadership, the staff at Juárez made progress on the 5 Essentials survey, improving from Partially Organized to Well-Organized in 4 years. Adams credits this success to strongly emphasizing work in two areas: a) empowering teacher leaders and teacher teams to carry out a common vision for socio-emotional learning and b) refining their competency-based learning.
Cortez McCoy Appointed Principal of Walter H. Dyett High School for the Arts
Cortez McCoy (Cohort 14) is a product of CPS and is entering his 14th year in education. As a proud graduate of Chicago Public Schools, Cortez has dedicated his career to Chicago’s children and their families. Prior to this appointment, McCoy has been a substitute teacher, teacher, assistant dean and assistant principal in both the public and charter school sectors. During his time as an assistant principal at Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep, Brooks received the Blue Ribbon Award and ascended from #10 to #8 among high schools in Illinois, according to USA Today. Cortez is a proud native of the south side of Chicago and holds a Bachelor’s in Business Management from Illinois State University, a Masters in the Art of Teaching from Chicago State University and a Masters in Educational Leadership from Concordia University.
Steve Fisher Named Principal of Gresham Elementary
Steve Fisher (Cohort 14) will serve the next principal of Gresham Elementary. With 11 years of experience, Fisher will be entering his 4th year as a school leader. Most recently, Fisher served as the Assistant Principal of Pablo Casals School of Excellence and the Resident Principal of Mary McDowell Elementary. In those positions, he has experience leading teams of teachers and streams of work including: the math department, English language arts, the Instructional Leadership Team, Attendance, On-Track, MTSS, and Parent & Community engagement. His educational journey began as a social studies teacher, teaching courses at Fenger, Phillips, and Westinghouse.
Keisha Campbell Earns Superintendent Endorsement
On July 26th, the Council on Teacher Education entitled Keisha Campbell (Cohort 5) to her Superintendent Endorsement. Congratulations, Dr. Campbell!
Sherly Chavarria named Deputy Chief of Teaching and Learning
Dr. Sherly Chavarria (Cohort 13) comes to this position as a bilingual, urban school leader with ten years of educational experience serving as an educator and administrator focused on equity and access. Most recently, Sherly served as the principal for William P. Nixon Elementary School. Under Dr. Chavarria’s leadership, she and her colleagues redesigned the school master schedule; introduced new literacy, math, and science curricular resources; led the school in developing both common, standards-based scopes and sequences and common summative assessments; on-boarded a dual language program; and transitioned Nixon to being a more inclusive school.
When asked about what excites her about this position, Chavarria responded, “I am eager to bring to Teaching and Learning my deep commitment to equity, quality instruction, and continuous improvement. I look forward to advancing equity across the district by ensuring that all students have access to high-quality curriculum, relevant and engaging instruction, and welcoming and affirming learning environments.”