New L-W Central Principal Back Where It All Began

NEW LENOX, IL — Beth McNamara knows her way around Lincoln-Way Central High School. There was a time when she sat in the classrooms there, played sports, prepped for college, and made friends and memories that carry over to this day.

The circle is now complete: The student has become the principal.

McNamara was a student at the New Lenox high school, Class of 2000, when she lived in Mokena. After attending college at University of Evansville for her undergrad studies before moving on to Governor's State University and Loyola University for her graduate and doctoral studies, she's back living in Mokena again and in a unique position to help students realize their dreams and help them navigate some of the most critical times of their lives.

McNamara recently took over the position when Steve Provis, who had been the principal at Central since 2010, transitioned into a new role as assistant superintendent July 1. He now will oversee human resources for the district.

But principal isn't McNamara's first role with her former high school or school district. She has spent time in various roles at all three of Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210's schools since 2005. Most recently, she served as a leader for the Knights as the associate principal for curriculum and instruction for the past seven years.

She said the experience she's gained along the way, and the mentorship from Provis, have helped prepare her for her new role.

"I had the privilege of learning and growing from his leadership, and that's kind of led me to where I am today," McNamara said.

While the pandemic restrictions of the past two years have been considerably lifted, McNamara said there are still challenges ahead for students, faculty and staff.

"I think the past couple of years have been extremely challenging for educators, for students, for parents, the entire school community," she said. "And, honestly, the hope is that this year is really really an opportunity to get back to where we once were: honoring these strong traditions that Lincoln-Way was built upon and working together as a school community, and an opportunity to make this one of the best years yet, given what we've all been through."

The 2022-23 school year officially starts Aug. 16 for Lincoln-Way students, and McNamara has been hard at work planning for the highly anticipated day. She said that there hasn't been a day she hasn't thought about it.

"On the first day of school, we're going to get back to it," she said. "We're going to welcome students as they come back in. We're going to have a first-day-of-school pep assembly to showcase some of the school spirit, school culture. We're going to talk about what we're going to do this year and what's to come in terms of looking forward. And we're going to start off on the right foot. It's going to be great. I'm excited."