The finalists for the position of superintendent of Oak Park Elementary School District 97 have been announced. The two candidates will participate in a virtual town hall hosted by the district this evening. The two finalists are Terri Bresnahan, currently the superintendent of Community Consolidated School District 59 which serves southern Arlington Heights, Elk Grove and portions of Mount Prospect, Des Plaines and unincorporated Cook County, and Angela Dolezal, currently the Director of Teacher and Learning for Riverside Elementary School District 96.
While Bresnahan, who was the superintendent of Berkeley District 87 for six years before taking over as superintendent of District 59 in 2021, has the edge in experience as a superintendent, Dolezal has the stronger connection to District 97. She was the principal of Longfellow School in Oak Park for 13 years before taking her current job in Riverside in 2019. Dolezal also taught in District 97 for two years teaching fourth and fifth grades at Holmes Schools immediately before being hired to be the principal at Longfellow.
Dolezal’s current boss in Riverside speaks highly of her.
“I am impressed with Angela’s commitment to her mission, vision and values in supporting all children,” said Riverside District 96 Superintendent Martha Ryan-Toye who lives in Oak Park. “I see her as very strong candidate for this job.”
Prior to coming to District 97 in 2004 Dolezal taught for four years in her hometown of Bellevue, Nebraska, a suburb of Omaha. In Nebraska Dolezal taught third, sixth and eighth grades. Dolezal, who received her bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Michigan in 1998, began her career teaching fourth and fifth grade in Loudoun County, in northern Virginia.
Dolezal earned a masters degree in educational administration and supervision from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2004 and a doctorate in education from Loyola University of Chicago in 2021. She is a former resident of Oak Park.
Before becoming superintendent in District 87 Bresnahan worked as District 87’s assistant superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction for seven years. She also worked as the director of technology for two different school districts, first for five years at Addison School District #4 and then for four years as the Director of Technology for Niles District 64. She also worked in technology positions for Avoca School District 37 and River Trails District 26. Bresnahan, who received her bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Illinois in 1996, began her career as a middle school and elementary school teacher in San Bernardino, California.
Bresnahan earned her doctorate in education from National Louis University in 2012.
District 59 is a large district with 15 schools, three of which are middle schools, and 5,808 students. Riverside District 96 is a much smaller district with four elementary schools and one middle school and approximately 1,750 students.
The District 97 school board interviewed candidates for the superintendent job this week in closed session and decided on Bresnahan and Dolezal as the finalists last night. District 97 Director of Communications Amanda Seigfried declined to say at this time how many people applied for the job and how many were interviewed this week.
“Because the superintendent search is still active, we’re holding those details until the process concludes,” Seigfried said in an email. “We plan to share information about the applicant pool and interviews as part of our final announcement once the search is complete.”
Tonight’s virtual town hall will begin at 6 p.m. Those who wish to participate must register with District 97 to get the Zoom link for the town hall.
The district’s website said that registration for the townhall closed at Noon today but that District 97 will share a link to a recording of the town hall until 9 p.m. on Jan. 30.
