River Forest School District 90 announced Christine Gerges will serve as the interim principal of Willard Elementary School for this upcoming school year.
Gerges, who formerly served as the shared assistant principal at both Willard Elementary and Lincoln Elementary School, has been with the district for the past 18 years of her career in education. She began as a teacher and taught for 13 years before serving as assistant principal for five years.
The D90 board of education on June 17 approved Gerges’ appointment to serve as interim principal after Diane Wood retired.
Wood has served as principal of Willard Elementary since July 2014.
Gerges has also worked on the superintendent’s leadership council, as well as mentored first-year teachers.
“Over the course of thirteen years teaching at Willard, Ms. Gerges created inclusive classroom environments where students flourished academically and collaborated closely with grade level peers to improve instructional practices,” district representatives said in a statement.
As an assistant principal, officials said, Gerges created strong relationships with stakeholders, as well as helped with the implementation of full-day kindergarten, assisted with the development of standards-based instructional practices and report cards, and helped establish D90’s behavioral threat assessment protocols.
Gerges holds a bachelor of arts degree in elementary education from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, along with a master’s in educational administration from Concordia University Chicago, and a master of arts degree in special education from the University of Illinois Chicago.
“We are fortunate to have a school leader with such expertise, skill and dedication who already knows our Willard school community well, thanks to Chrstine’s 18 years of excellent service to District 90 Schools,” said D90 Supt. Ed Condon. “I am delighted that our school community will benefit from the tremendous experience and passion that Christine brings.”
For Gerges, the new position means she continues to be “home.”
“I often think about my first class of Wizards, who are now in their mid-twenties, and the amazing accomplishments they’ve achieved,” she said. “I am honored to support this next generation of Wizards and to partner with families, faculty and staff to continue our culture of excellence.”
District officials said D90 is working “quickly to identify an excellent assistant principal” for both elementary schools.