North Chicago, IL – The D187 Independent Authority Board announced, at their meeting on April 25th, that Joseph Parker will be the next principal of NCCHS.
“We are thrilled to welcome Mr. Parker to North Chicago and District 187,” said Mrs. Dora King, Independent Authority Board Chairperson. “He has the talent and skill of an educational leader and a commitment to developing relationships with students and ensuring each of them succeed.”
Mr. Parker is a native of Maywood, IL, and attended Proviso East High School where he was a two-sport athlete playing basketball and football. He attended Illinois State University and received his B.S. in Economics with a minor in Psychology. After graduation, Mr. Parker returned to Maywood and served as a substitute teacher, a tutor in the academic support center of Malcolm X Junior College, founder and teacher in Proviso Township’s initial alternative education program, and an elected school-board member. In 2004, he applied to the New York Leadership Academy, an initiative led by the Gates Foundation to help provide school leadership in New York City Schools and was one of 90 applicants selected out of a pool of 1,400 applicants. Moving from New York to Miami, Mr. Parker continued his work in educational leadership with a charter organization. After completing a two-year program to be certified as one of the first School-Turnaround Specialists, he worked to assist multiple schools in his charter organization. In 2018 he moved north to Waterloo, Iowa, to become the principal of one of the district’s two high schools.
“I am very excited to have Joe join the district and bring his years of experience and enthusiasm for supporting students to NCCHS,” said Dr. John Price, D187 Superintendent. “Dr. Werner has done a wonderful job increasing our graduation rate from 56% to 82.4% and our Freshman-On-Track for graduation rate from 56% to 93.6%, both in just five years. Joe has the expertise and commitment needed to build on these successes and continue to support and advance our students.”
Mr. Parker will assume the helm of NCCHS this summer at which time Dr. Werner will become D187’s Director of Multilingual Education.
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