Dist. 202 Board Approves 7 New Assistant Principals

This article was submitted by Plainfield School District 202, the boundaries of which include a large section of Joliet:

The District 202 Board of Education approved six new elementary and one middle school assistant principal assignments at its June 24, 2013, regular meeting.

·         Eagle Pointe Elementary 4th grade teacher Kristen Salgado as the new assistant principal at Wesmere Elementary School. She started her education career in 1997 teaching 3rd, 4th and 5th grades at Lakewood Falls Elementary and went to Eagle Pointe when the school opened in 2002. She will replace current Wesmere Assistant Principal Tracey Markowski.

·         Wesmere Elementary Assistant Principal Tracy Markowski as the new assistant principal at Charles Reed Elementary. Markowski has served two years at Wesmere. She began her education career in 1989, serving two years as a teaching assistant at McCord Elementary School in Burbank, Illinois, then two more as a permanent 2nd grade substitute teacher. 

In 1993 Markowski taught third grade and served as assistant principal at Harry E. Fry Elementary School, also in Burbank. She came to District 202 in 2000 as an elementary teacher at Meadow View Elementary, and moved to Freedom Elementary in 2007 where she taught fourth grade. She replaces Dr. Tammy Sroczynski who is now principal at Freedom Elementary.

·         Heritage Grove Middle School 6th grade teacher William Stockey as assistant principal at Freedom Elementary. Stockey started his education career in 2003 as a special education teacher at the Aurora Education Center in North Aurora. He then taught special education at Heritage Grove from 2004-2007, and has taught 6th grade science and social studies at Heritage Grove since 2007. He replaces current Freedom Assistant Patty Connell.

·         Freedom Elementary Assistant Principal Patty Connell as the new assistant principal at Creekside Elementary School. Connell helped open Freedom in 2007 as its first assistant principal. Connell began her education career with District 202, teaching third grade from 1999-2006, and second grade in 2007 all at Grand Prairie Elementary School. She replaces current Creekside Assistant Principal Adam Ubben.

·         Thomas Jefferson Elementary Assistant Principal Jennifer Jachowicz as the new assistant principal at Crystal Lawns Elementary. Jachowicz has served in her current position since 2010. Before that she was assistant principal at Lincoln Elementary for three years. She also served as elementary music teacher from 2002-2007 for Central, Creekside and Eagle Pointe elementary schools in District 202.

Jachowicz taught instrumental music from 2000-2002 in Peotone Community Unit School District 207-U. Jachowicz taught at Peotone High School and three Peotone elementary schools. She began her education career teaching one year (2000-2001) as a summer band director at Madison and Lincoln junior high schools in Naperville District 203. She replaces current Crystal Lawns Assistant Principal Brenda Schmidt.

·         Molly Wepprecht as the new assistant principal at Grand Prairie Elementary School. Wepprecht has been the assistant principal at Lakewood Creek Elementary in Oswego from 2011-13. She started her education career teaching first through fourth grades in the Kankakee school district from 1999-2011. She also worked as the Student Services Coordinator from 2008-11 for Kennedy Middle School in Kankakee. She replaces current Grand Prairie Interim Assistant Principal Tyler Broders.

The Board also approved appointing Plainfield East High School special education teacher Kathryn Wade as the new assistant principal at Timber Ridge Middle School.

Wade started her education career in 2005. She served three years as a special education teacher and summer school teacher at Plainfield South High School. Since 2008 she has worked as a special education teacher and summer school teacher at PEHS and Plainfield North High School.

Wade replaces Sandra Garner, who is the new Principal at Grand Prairie Elementary School.