Oak Park and River Forest High School—District 200 201 N. Scoville Ave. Oak Park, IL 60302

D200 Board of Education approves key hires for 2021-2022

(May 27, 2021) - The District 200 Board of Education has approved a variety of key hires for next school year, as detailed below.

Assistant Superintendent/Principal Ms. Lynda Parker Ms. Parker has served as the OPRFHS director of student services for the past three years, overseeing a staf of more than 40 counselors, deans, social workers, registrar, and other support staf. Notable accomplishments have included introducing school-wide restorative practices to foster a more supportive school environment; collaborating with the deans to produce a comprehensive behavior education program that focuses on restorative, rather than punitive, responses; creating the district’s frst trauma-informed interventionist position; and collaborating on the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support plan for the 2021-2022 school year. She also launched the school’s Culture of Warmth (COW), a campaign to boost an environment of care throughout the building.

Ms. Parker began her career as a math teacher at in Public Schools. Other work experience has included serving as a mentor teacher at Northwestern University, associate director of the Teaching Scholars Program at the Golden Apple Foundation, counseling department chair at Kenwood Academy, and assistant principal at and High School.

Assistant Superintendent for Student Learning Dr. Laurie Fiorenza Dr. Fiorenza has served as the OPRFHS director of student learning for the past two years, where she has been responsible for all aspects of curriculum and instruction for 3,400 students and 250 teachers. Among her accomplishments are leading the process of detracking the freshman curriculum, facilitating the work of embedding culturally responsive teaching and learning standards into curriculum and leadership practices, developing a long-term professional development plan, and evaluating the instructional coaching program.

Dr. Fiorenza began her education career at Quincy Senior High School, in Quincy, Ill., where she held roles as a literacy teacher, reading interventionist, and instructional coach. She also served as assistant principal at Quincy Junior High School and Rotolo Middle School, and as principal of Francis Granger Middle School.

Executive Director for Equity and Student Success Dr. Patrick Hardy Since 2015, Dr. Hardy has been the principal of Proviso Township East High School. Hired to turn around the struggling school, Dr. Hardy’s accomplishments include signifcantly increasing the graduation rate, number of honor roll students, number of clubs and activities, and number of Advanced Placement courses, as well as dramatically reducing out-of-school suspensions. During his tenure, Proviso East was selected to join the frst cohort of the state’s Competency-Based High School Graduation Requirement Pilot Program, which ofers unique opportunities for districts to maximize college- and career-readiness for all students.

Dr. Hardy began his education career in Boston, where he worked as a history teacher and school counselor. Other roles have included assistant principal, principal, and chief academic ofcer in Rockford Public School District 205 in Rockford, Ill.

Assistant Director of Special Education Dr. Lesley Roberts Since 2018, Dr. Roberts has been the department chair of special education at Evanston Township High School, where she oversees roughly 90 special education teachers, therapists, interns and paraprofessionals. She also serves on ETHS’s District Equity Leadership Team and has played an active role in bringing professional development around racial equity to the special education department. She has worked as a school psychologist at several Chicago-area schools, including Barrington District 220, where she also held roles as an assistant principal and 504 coordinator. During her career, Dr. Roberts has worked with all ages of students with special needs, from preschool through age 21.

Director of Instructional Technology Ms. Maureen Miller Most recently the director of technology for Winnetka Public Schools District 36, Ms. Miller began her career in the mid-1990s as a “very techie” high school science teacher. She went on to earn a master’s in technology in education from National-Louis University and for the past 13 years has held technology administrator roles at several educational institutions, including North Shore School District 112 and Deerfeld High School. Ms. Miller regularly presents at local and national conferences. In 2019 she received the ISTE/IDEA Making IT Happen award, which honors extraordinary commitment, leadership, courage and persistence in improving digital learning opportunities for students.

Division Head for English Mr. Brian Conant Since 2013, Mr. Conant has served as the curriculum director of English for Joliet Township High School District 204. At Joliet he has played a central role in developing a more equitable school culture, including establishing a district-wide culturally responsive steering committee and co-facilitating all-staf professional development around racial equity. Mr. Conant previously held roles as the English Department chair at Huntley High School, freshman academy director at Dundee-Crown High School, and English teacher at University High School in Normal, Ill. Division Head for Physical Education, Health, and Driver Education Mr. Brian Beyers A dean of students at OPRFHS for the past eight years, Mr. Beyers spent the frst seven years of his career teaching physical education at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. He also served as the head track and feld coach at both Waubonsie Valley High School and Urbana High School. He moved into administration as an assistant principal in Champaign Unit 4 School District before becoming a dean of students at Urbana High School and then Proviso East High School.

Executive Assistant to the Superintendent/Clerk of the Board Ms. Lisa Evans The 2021-2022 school year will be a transition period, during which Ms. Evans will work closely with Gail Kalmerton, long-time executive assistant to the superintendent/clerk of the board who is retiring in June 2022. Ms. Evans has worked in various support roles for OPRFHS since 2004, most recently as the administrative assistant to the associate superintendent, where her responsibilities include assisting with data analysis, the Triton Dual Credit program, various grant requirements, new teacher orientation, summer school coordination, honors convocation, and home-bound tutoring. She previously served for eight years as the administrative assistant for assessment and research. Ms. Evans studied business law and computers at Malcolm X College.