Page 18 - Leadership Matters monthly magazine template January 2013

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who was an elementary school principal in Elgin
before Westerhold hired him to be director of
human relations seven
years ago. She promoted
him to assistant
superintendent and then
to his current role three
years ago. He said her
management style makes
it a fun place to work –
and yields results.
“She plants seeds,
sets the direction and
then she allows you to do
your job,” Hertel said.
“She is always on top of
what’s happening, but
she doesn’t
micromanage.”
One of those seeds
was planted six years
ago when the district
undertook the difficult task of creating a new
teacher evaluation tool. So this year, when the
new education reform laws were required to be
implemented, the Des Plaines district was well
positioned.
“We tweaked the plan some this past summer,
but I would say we were about 95 percent ready
when Senate Bill 7 passed,” Hertel said. “It was
done in a way that our teachers were very
comfortable with it and it has been a positive thing,
especially for our students. We still need to add
the student growth component, but we have a
great working relationship with our teachers.”
The ability to build trust among stakeholders is
one of Westerhold’s strengths..
“Providing effective leadership for teaching and
learning in the 21st century is a complex
responsibility that requires effective
communications both within and outside the
school district,” said Murphy, the board president.
“Dr. Westerhold actively develops communication
channels that support the success of our diverse
population. She works hard to create an
atmosphere of trust and mutual respect with the
staff and community, an area that was of
significant concern before her arrival.”
Effective communication is absolutely essential
for a school superintendent, Westerhold agreed.
“Communication is the key with your
stakeholders,” said
Westerhold, noting that
holding community
meetings was a major
factor in the success of
the district’s “Master
Plan” to renovate its
aging facilities to help
create a 21st century
learning environment.
“You have to build up
trust and one way to do
that is to understand that
communication goes
both ways. Listening is
so important, and you
cannot just listen and say
‘Thank you’ and then go
off and do whatever you
want.”
Communicating with the
school board is at the top of Westerhold’s list.
“You have to have the board and the
superintendent on the same team when it comes
to working on what is best for children. It’s critical,
and it’s one of the areas where new
superintendents tend to struggle because no other
job really prepares you for that part of being a
superintendent.”
When Westerhold assessed the challenges
facing education, aside from the state funding
crisis she identified poverty as one of the biggest
problems, one that seems to be getting worse.
“When you talk 46 percent of our students
coming from low-income families, that’s a bit
misleading,” she said. “There are the students
who qualify as ‘low-income,’ and then there are
those that come from deep poverty. As a nation I
think we are really missing an opportunity because
the needs of those students in deep poverty are
so significant. There has to be a way to better
identify those students and try to help them.”
It’s that focus and drive – fueled by the image
of Sean, the second-grader knocking on her
window to come in from the cold – that makes
Jane Westerhold the type of school leader
befitting the title of Illinois Superintendent of the
Year.
(Continued from page 17)
“When you talk 46 percent
of our students coming from
low-income families, that’s
a bit misleading. There are
the students who qualify as ‘low-
income,’ and then there are those
that come from deep poverty. As a
nation I think we are really missing
an opportunity because the needs
of those students in deep poverty
are so significant. There has to be
a way to better identify those
students and try to help them.”
Dr. Jane Westerhold
Westerhold Profile ————————————————————————————