Dear Julian Staff and Families,
I’m writing to share an important update regarding the upcoming school year at Julian Middle School.
Earlier this morning, Principal Jeremy Christian and I met with Julian staff to share that he has accepted a principal position at Niles West High School in Niles Township District 219, effective July 1, 2023. His final day with District 97 will be June 30.
First, I want to acknowledge and thank Principal Christian for his service to the Julian community over the past three years. We are grateful for his many contributions, in particular, his commitment to students and his efforts to explicitly affirm and celebrate Black identity at Julian. We are committed to building upon this work and to continuously expanding a culture of inclusion for all.
As we begin our search for the next principal of Julian, we are invested in finding a strong, well-qualified educator to lead our Jayhawks into the future. We will use a participatory process that will be anchored in the district’s equity policy and the Illinois Performance Standards for School Leaders, and include advisory feedback from Julian students, families and staff. An overview of this process is outlined below.
| Recruitment |
District 97 will post the principal position this week. |
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Inclusive Community Engagement |
Creating the Principal Profile An online survey to inform our Principal Profile Listening sessions with students, staff and families Feedback will be used to develop a profile of the ideal candidate. A recent example can be viewed here. |
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Candidate Screenings and Interviews Multiple rounds of interviews will be conducted by teams composed of school and district administrators, Julian staff members and families. We will be intentional in ensuring that our interview teams reflect the diversity of the Julian community and include a variety of perspectives. |
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| Stakeholder- Informed Decision |
The superintendent will utilize all of the information and feedback collected to select the individual who will be presented to the District 97 Board of Education for appointment to the position. |
| Process Review and Refinement | We are committed to continuously improving our hiring practices. After the onboarding of the selected candidate, stakeholders will be provided an opportunity to share what went well and what needs to be improved in future searches. |
We are in the process of putting together our survey and identifying dates and times for listening sessions. Please be on the lookout for additional communication in early June.
We look forward to connecting with you soon.
Sincerely,
Dr. Ushma Shah
Superintendent