Plainfield Academy Principal Stepping Down From Position

PLAINFIELD, IL — The 2019/2020 school year will be Tod Schnowske's last as principal of Plainfield Academy. He announced his planned departure from the school on Facebook on Tuesday, Jan. 14. He said he chose to leave his position of 16 years due in part to personal issues that demand his attention.

"It's been a real difficult couple years, and those kids need a champion," he said. "They need a good leader who's going to do the best by them... and everything I've got going on; I'm not getting any younger."

Nevertheless, he insisted that he was not retiring, per se, and that he would eventually be seeking other employment within the Plainfield School District 202.

"I've been doing it a long time; I've kind of served my time with it. I'll just be in the district and be a teacher or a dean for the next three or four years," he said.

Schnowske's announcement, which came in the middle of the school year, surprised some District 202 officials. Communications Director Thomas Hernandez said it was an unusual choice for Schnowske to announce his retirement on Facebook, but not a disruptive one.

"It was fairly unusual, but people can do what they want to do," Hernandez said. "Since he had told his staff and it's the middle of the year, it would have gotten out anyway."

Shnowske said he chose to use Facebook for his announcement so as to head off any rumors that might surround his departure. Better, he said, that staff and parents hear it from him directly than from somewhere or someone else.

"You know how society works nowadays. Especially with someone who's been at the same place as long as I have, I don't want people to think that something happened... or that I had any ill-will toward the district," he said.

Schnowske said that he told his own faculty of his decision to step down on the same day as his Facebook announcement. He added that he wanted to give his staff enough time to begin the selection process for a replacement principal.

Despite the surprise, Hernandez gave Schnowske great praise for the work he has done at Plainfield Academy, calling him "a wonderful young man... with a great temperament for the job."

"He deserves every kudos that anybody could think of to give him," Hernandez said.

Plainfield Academy runs a number of alternative and special education programs designed to accommodate at-risk students and students with learning disabilities. Hernandez said that the person who eventually replaces Schnowske will need "an extraordinary level of empathy for young people."

Schnowske agreed with this assessment, adding that whoever takes his job will need "the patience of a saint." He also said that he was unsure at this time whether he would participate in the process of selecting a replacement.

"I may be involved, my staff will definitely be involved, heavily," he said. "And the community would definitely be involved."

Schnowske said he would be continuing his service work throughout the Plainfield community, including volunteering with the Plainfield Lions' Club, after he stepped down and tended to his personal issues. He did not clarify whether he would immediately seek a new position in the school district after the end of this school year, or whether he would take any kind of leave of absence. He did say that he planned to work for the school district in some capacity until his 'true' retirement some years from now.

"I love Plainfield [schools], I want to stay here," he said. "I'll probably retire in my mid-50s or upper 50s. I want to stay here."

This article was edited at 9:55 p.m., Thursday Jan. 16 to correct a typo of Thomas Hernandez' name.