Elmhurst School To Get New Principal

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst's Edison Elementary School is getting a new principal next school year.

The current principal, James Pluskota, is leaving in June. His retirement was announced to the public a year ago.

At Tuesday's Elmhurst School District 205 board meeting, Joseph Schumacher, assistant superintendent of human resources, said the search for a new principal is underway.

"That District 205 continues to attract numerous high-quality candidates is a testament to our board, staff and the larger community," Schumacher said. "We have identified a large slate of candidates to screen in the near future."

Rounds of interviews are planned for this month and next. The board is likely to appoint someone next month, assuming a "strong candidate consensus and positive reference checks," Schumacher said.

According to the district, Pluskota has been an educator for more than three decades and the principal of Edison for the last 18 years.

In 2022, he was named by the Illinois State Board of Education as a 2022 Those Who Excel awardee for Meritorious Service. Pluskota joined an "elite group" of 26 other awardees from the district to receive the honor, according to a news release at the time.

As of last year, Edison Elementary's enrollment was 310 students, 6 percent of whom come from low-income families, according to the Illinois Report Card.