I am honored to be serving in my first year as superintendent and am dedicated to continuing the tradition of excellence that is evidenced by the exceptional students, staff, and programs in Community High School District 117! I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Dr. Jim McKay who generously dedicated his time throughout the spring to give me multiple tours of the community and make countless introductions to staff, community leaders and parents. I was also able to attend several community events and the commencement ceremonies at both schools to witness first hand some of the traditions of the school community. During these visits, I was repeatedly impressed by the pride exhibited by community members and the passion with which they are committed to helping support our students. I am happy to report that this first impression has only been reinforced during my first months officially in the role, and I am even more humbled to have the honor of joining this team!
I am so grateful to be employed by a distinguished School Board whose members bring many years of service to the community to the role! Our Board was honored last year by the Illinois Association of School Boards (IASB)’s School Board Governance Recognition program for their understanding of and commitment to IASB’s Foundational Principles of Effective Governance. I have been extremely impressed with the dedication of our Board Members during my initial months on the job and can already see how our district has benefited from the diverse experience, expertise, and prior public service each member brings to our governance team.
With regard to my own background professionally, this is my 25th year as a public educator in Illinois, and I am proud to have served as a classroom teacher for 11 years and an administrator for the last 14 years, serving as a Division Chair, Assistant Principal, Assistant Superintendent, and Superintendent prior to coming to CHSD 117.
My goal as superintendent will be to marshall the resources of our talented staff, excellent programming, and community resources to pursue the CHSD 117 mission to ignite passion and discovery in every student by creating a rich, equitable, and respectful learning environment for all. I am proud to be a member of this team effort that will stay centered on the student experience as we are honored to do this work every day.
This work will be driven by our strategic plan which was updated in 2020 for the subsequent three years ending in 2023. This past July of 2022, staff from both schools convened to review the plan and finalize commitments for the 2022-2023 school year. I will save the details on those commitments for a future edition, but the short version is that our work will be focused on understanding the student student experience at ACHS and LCHS and dedicating ourselves to continuously improving that experience for all of the students we serve.
For those of you I have met to date, thank you for the warm welcome you have extended! I look forward to meeting many more community members at one of our school events in the months to come!
Jeff Feucht, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Community High School District 117
