Oak Park Middle Schools Get New Asst. Principals

Two Oak Park Elementary School District 97 teachers were promoted into bigger roles this week. 

The appointments of Faith Cole to the assistant principal role at and Lindsay Pietrzak to assistant prinicpal at  were confirmed by the District 97 school board at Tuesday's meeting. 

Cole, an Oak Park native who attended Julian, takes over for , who was appointed as principal of back in May. LeDeaux took over for Nimisha Kumar, who announced her resignation in March after allegations surfaced that school staffers may have altered Illinois Standard Achievement Test (ISAT) forms after they were submitted by students. Earlier: 

Pierzak, a former Chicago Public Schools teacher who's been at Brooks for the past five years, replaces Denise Matthews, who district officials said resigned in May to take a job with another school district.

Cole and Pierzak start their new positions on July 1, 2012. Their one-year contracts have a base salary of $75,000, officials said. 

Here's the full release from District 97:

During its meeting this evening, the District 97 Board of Education unanimously approved the appointments of Faith Cole as an assistant principal at Percy Julian Middle School and Lindsay Pietrzak as an assistant principal at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School. Cole will be replacing Sam LeDeaux, who was appointed as the principal of Horace Mann Elementary School on May 22, 2012; and Pietrzak will be replacing Denise Matthews, who resigned on May 8, 2012 to take a job with another school district. Both individuals will start their new positions on July 1, 2012.

“I want to congratulate Faith and Lindsay on their appointments as assistant principals,” said Superintendent Al Roberts. “I believe their leadership skills, strong commitment to education, and creative, energetic approach to learning will contribute to the continued success of our middle schools and help us build a better tomorrow for our students.”

Prior to joining Julian, Faith Cole served as one of the district’s teacher leaders for mentoring and instruction for two years; and as a kindergarten teacher and Title I Reading teacher in the district for six years. She also coached the girls’ varsity basketball team at Oak Park and River Forest High School from 2003 to 2009.

Cole has a bachelor’s degree in Elementary and Special Education from Lewis University, a master’s degree in Leadership from Northeastern University and is currently working on her doctorate in Teacher Leadership at Walden University.

Cole was born and raised in Oak Park, and attended Horace Mann Elementary School, Percy Julian Middle School and Oak Park and River Forest High School. She currently resides in Melrose Park with her husband Travis and her three-year old son Travis Jr.

“I am incredibly excited about being selected as an assistant principal at Julian; and am thrilled that I will have the opportunity to serve a school and community that have had a profound impact on my life as an educator,” said Cole. “I cannot wait to begin this next phase of my career in District 97; and look forward to working with Principal Fitzgerald and my colleagues to help our students become active thinkers and learners who excel both in and out of the classroom.”

Prior to her appointment to the new position at Brooks, Pietrzak taught at the school for five years, serving first as a Gifted, Talented and Differentiation teacher and then as a seventh grade Language Arts teacher. She also taught in the Chicago Public Schools from 2004 to 2007. In addition to her teaching duties, Pietrzak is the coach of the eighth grade girls’ basketball team at Brooks and the assistant varsity coach for the girls’ basketball program at Oak Park and River Forest High School.

Pietrzak has a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from University of Iowa, and master’s degrees in Reading and Educational Leadership from Benedictine University. She currently resides in Forest Park.“During the past five years, I have had the opportunity to make a positive impact on the lives of my students through our work together in the classroom and on the court,” said Pietrzak. “I am excited to continue this journey in my new role as an assistant principal; and look forward to helping the children of Oak Park realize their potential and exceed all expectations.”

Cole and Pietrzak both received a one-year contract with a base salary of $72,000.