Retiring Superintendent Sandra Doebert Receives Leadership Award from Lemont Chamber

The Lemont Area Chamber of Commerce paid tribute Friday to  Superintendent Sandra Doebert, who will retire this year after leading the district for the past decade.

During the chamber's annual dinner dance, Chamber President Marlene Miciunas and Lemont Mayor Brian Reaves presented Doebert with a special Leadership Award "in appreciation and recognition for her service and leadership to the students and community of Lemont Township High School."

Reaves told Doebert during the presentation: "You have not only been a leader for our school, but a leader to all administrators and staff throughout Lemont. Your commitment to your position has made Lemont and the high school a desirable location for families when they're looking to move, and you have given our children one of the top learning experiences in the state."

Doebert has served as the superintendent of District 210 since 2002, making her the first female superintendent in the school's history and one of only four superintendents to have served at least a decade. She came to the school in 1994 as an assistant principal, a role she filled for seven years before serving as the assistant superintendent in the 2001-02 school year.

She will  June 30, the last day of the current school year.

During Doebert's tenure as superintendent, Lemont High School has made strides in several areas—including academics, extracurriculars and improved facilities—all while enrollment has grown by 33 percent to more than 1,500 students.

Accepting the award, Doebert said the following:

I need to say that I am humbled to be recognized by the Chamber of Commerce. I'm just the girl who was a kid from a family who relied on the generosity of the community long before things like food pantries existed. I was just a kid who was inspired by teachers who worked on my behalf, and wanted to become an educator because of the difference they made in my life. I'm just a mom who, along with my husband, looked for the perfect place to raise our children and found it here in Lemont. 

Along with my family, I have had the pleasure of shopping, going to school, playing, going to work and attending church in this wonderful, beautiful village of faith for the last 25 years. I have had the privilege of working with an extraordinary faculty and staff, a wonderful administrative team and an unbelievably dedicated board of education for the last 18 years—and specifically serving as the superintendent for the last 10 as we seek to achieve the mission for all students to become lifelong learners and productive citizens in this rapidly changing world.

I am the one who needs to thank all of you for these 25 years of living and raising my family in this amazingly special community and 18 years of serving the students. It's truly a privilege and an honor to be allowed to do that. So tonight, I humbly thank the Chamber of Commerce for recognizing me, and sincerely thank all of you for joining me in this wonderful evening. Thank you very much.

More than 100 elected officials, business owners and community members attended the chamber's dinner dance, which was held at in Lemont. The event featured performances by Diva Montell, the Lemont High School jazz band and junior Aubree Tally.