Interim Superintendent Dan Bridges has agreed to a three-year contract offered by the Board of Education and approved during the Monday, August 20, 2012, board meeting answering the question of who will be the next superintendent for Naperville CUSD 203.
 
When the Board of Education was informed in March that the superintendent position would be vacant starting July 1, 2012, the members began the process of determining how the new leader of the District would be selected. Over the past five months, the Board members deliberated on the selection process and consulted with experts in the field about the level of candidates available. In addition, the members reviewed the characteristics and qualities District staff and the Naperville community have indicated they value during past superintendent searches.
 

“The number one priority of the Board of Education has been to determine the optimum process to find the best possible person for the superintendency of our District,” said Board president Mike Jaensch. “Because of previous decisions to build a strong succession plan, we had an extremely qualified and talented leader in-house who we felt was able to lead the District in an interim role while we carefully considered the best way forward... As these discussions matured, we realized we had the perfect person right in front of us.”
 

Dan Bridges joined District 203 in June 2011 as the Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education. His experiences in a large school district, West Aurora 129, as a senior high, junior high and elementary school principal and athletic director provided the District with a well-rounded addition to the leadership team. During his first year, Bridges established the Tip203 anonymous reporting hotline, oversaw the principal evaluation process related to school reform Senate Bill 7 and was a key facilitator for the Enrollment Capacity Study committee.
 

“I am grateful to the Board of Education for their confidence in me to continue leading our school District,” stated Bridges. “I am honored to work with incredible people every day who care deeply about our students.”
 

Bridges reiterated that his focus will be on implementing effective practices that promote learning for all students. He emphasized that this requires deliberate collaboration among staff and meaningful partnerships with parents and community.
 

A reception to introduce the new superintendent will be held on Tuesday, September 4, prior to the Board of Education meeting. Details will be announced at a later time.