Oak Park and River Forest High School once again has an assistant principal for operations.
On Oct. 12 the OPRF school board unanimously approved hiring David Narain, who had been the principal of Hirsch High School in Chicago to the position replacing Carla Williams who resigned from the position at the beginning of the school year.
Narain was chosen from a field of 29 applicants for the position.
“David Narain joins us from Chicago Public Schools with an extensive administrative background,” said OPRF Principal Lynda Parker in an email. “He has great knowledge of the needs associated with high school building operations and experience implementing schoolwide restorative justice practices. Both of these skills along with his student-centered, systems thinking will be of benefit to our entire school community.”
Parker once worked with Narain at King College Prep High School in Chicago, where he served as principal. She was an assistant principal.
Narain’s first day on the job at OPRF was Oct. 23. Narain could not be reached for comment by publication. According to his LinkedIn profile, Narain had been a principal since 2013. He has spent his entire career working for the Chicago Public Schools. Hirsch is a large neighborhood school on the south side of Chicago in the Chatham neighborhood. The enrollment at Hirsch has fallen to just 78 students, according to the latest school report card.
Academic performance has been low at Hirsch. According to the latest school report card, the graduation rate at Hirsch was only 34%. Only nine % of Hirsch students met proficiency standards in English Language Arts, 10% did so in science and just 4% in math.
Narain earned a bachelor’s degree in math with a minor in secondary education from the University of Illinois in 2000. In 2006, Narain earned a master’s degree in educational leadership and administration from Northeastern Illinois University. He has pursued a doctorate in education, specializing in urban education and leadership, from UIC, but has not yet completed the program.
Narain began his career as a math teacher. He taught for seven years rising to the post of math department chairman before being appointed to be an interim principal at King College Prep High School in 2013. He was in his sixth year as the principal at Hirsch before taking the job at OPRF.
Narain will be paid $103,173.08 for the rest of the school year, which is prorated from an annual salary of $145,000.
Note: This story was updated 10-27-23 to reflect that Parker once worked with Narain.
Correction: Because of information supplied to Wednesday Journal was incorrect, this article misstated one of Narain’s post-graduate degrees. He is working toward an Ed.D. He has not earned that degree. We apologize for the error.
