The BSD2 Board of Education unanimously voted to name Dr. Katie McCluskey the District’s new Superintendent of Schools during its regular business meeting on December 15.
Dr. McCluskey has served as the Assistant Superintendent of Teaching, Learning, and Accountability for Glen Ellyn District 41 since July 2017. She will begin her work in District 2 on July 1, 2022.
“I am honored to have been selected as District’s 2’s superintendent,” said Dr. McCluskey. “I am truly looking forward to working alongside the District 2 Board, staff, and families to make the dreams for their students come true. I look forward to meeting all of you in the very near future.”
Dr. McCluskey will come to District 2 having already developed highly successful dual language and foreign language at the elementary school (FLES) programs that have created pathways to biliteracy and bilingualism for all students. She has also attained Preschool for All grants to expand pre-kindergarten programs and support more at-risk students.
By building community partnerships, she has brought real-life problems connected to student learning into her schools, which has allowed students to hear real-world issues and research and design solutions for some of the most complex problems facing their communities.
“We look forward to welcoming Dr. McCluskey as our new Superintendent of Schools,” said Dr. Chris McCullough, Board President. “She will bring an extensive background in ESL and bilingual education, valuable experiences in all aspects of district-level and inter-district leadership, and an emphasis on collegiality, collaboration, and shared decision making to our school district.”
The Board began its search for a new superintendent earlier this fall, soliciting the community’s input on the needs and priorities of the District, and the qualifications and characteristics stakeholders wanted in their next leader. The search firm of Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates developed a “Leadership Profile” based on the information collected from this outreach effort, and the Board used that profile to interview candidates and select Dr. McCluskey.
“On behalf of the Board of Education, I want to thank the entire BSD2 community for its contribution to this successful superintendent search,” added Dr. McCullough. “I also want to thank Dr. John Perdue, Dr. Max McGee and HYA for their guidance throughout this process, and express my gratitude to my colleagues on the Board for their hard work and dedication to the District. Everyone’s contributions helped us secure a leader who is representative of our school district and community.”
MORE ON DR. MCCLUSKEY
Dr. McCluskey began her career in education in 2002, serving for six years as an English as a second language (ESL)/bilingual teacher at J.S. Morton High School. She then joined Plainfield School District 202 in 2008 to serve as a district-level ESL/bilingual instructional specialist.
In 2010, she moved on to serve for two years as the Director of ESL & Bilingual Programming for District 41 and Glenbard District 87, leading both districts’ ESL programming for more than 600 students Grade PreK-12. Over the next seven years, her responsibilities in District 41 continued to expand, as she served as its Director of ESL & Bilingual Programming, Director of Pre-Kindergarten, Birth-to-3 and Partners in Learning Programs, and Churchill Elementary Dual-Language School before being named to her current position.
Dr. McCluskey holds a doctorate of education in leadership in administration from Aurora University, a master of arts degree in education leadership from Governors State University, and a bachelor of arts degree in elementary education with a K-12 ESL endorsement from Arizona State University.
Dr. McCluskey co-authored the book Game Plan: A Playbook for Developing Winning PLCs at Work. The book supports educators in developing a collaborative community of learners and a shared focus while assisting them in meeting students' needs.
Dr. McCluskey and her husband, Brian, have been married for 15 years, and have a daughter, Lexi, who is an active seventh grader that loves to play soccer and spend time with friends. As a family, they enjoy volunteering and making blankets for the pediatric ward at Edward's hospital.
