Residents Needed to Select New Principal of Ravenswood Elementary

Residents and parents can help choose the next principal of Ravenswood Elementary School. 

The elementary's Local School Council voted Wednesday to form a Principal Selection Committee, tasked with recommending the building's next leader. Community members are encouraged to apply.

After a 5-year tenure at the school, principal Heather Connolly announced her resignation July 11. 

"While I have loved being your principal, the stresses of the constant turmoil that has plagued Chicago Public Schools in the last few years has taken its toll on many of us, including me," she wrote in a letter to parents. "My family has often taken  a backseat to the needs of Ravenswood, and our family life has suffered."

In the fall, Connolly will return to her native Iowa to serve as an administrator in the Waterloo Public School District. 

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"The members of the committee will define the necessary qualifications, screen candidate resumes, conduct interviews, conduct site visits, host the candidates, host a community forum, and make a final recommendation to the LSC regarding the best candidate," according to a post on the school's website. 

Those interested in applying must submit a letter of interest explaining their qualifications and reason for serving. All submissions must be in by Tuesday; electronic applications can be sent to psc@ravenswoodelementary.org and hard copies can be delivered to the school office. 

Tuesday, the LSC will hold a meeting at 6:30 to select the committee members with the first working gathering Thursday at 6:30 p.m. All meetings are at the school and open to the public. 

In the meantime, CPS will appoint an interim principal after Aug. 1.