We are extremely pleased to share the news that Alejandra Ovalle-Krolick has accepted the Lake Bluff Elementary Principal position for the 2022-2023 school year. She will be introduced at the July 12 School Board meeting and will assume duties on Friday, July 15.
Alejandra comes to us from Franklin Public Schools where she was the principal of Pleasant View Elementary School. Known as "Mrs. O.K." to her students, she has served in a variety of capacities at FPS since 2008 including associate principal, summer school principal, World Languages coordinator, and teacher.
Throughout her 14 years as an educator, Alejandra has demonstrated her ability to collaborate with families, students, and teachers to ensure that students are learning at their maximum potential. She is a systematic problem solver who not only has created progress monitoring systems to ensure school improvement goals are met, but has also led very successful PD work merging teacher collective efficacy, developing expert learners, and co-regulation. Much of her PD work has prioritized equitable education focused around building equity data and training team leaders on data dig processes. Most notably, she had the opportunity to present at the National Council of Teachers of English convention as part of a cross-categorical panel on student equity.
The recipient of the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship in 2016, Alejandra obtained an MBA in educational leadership from MSOE and during that time visited South Africa to learn about their educational system. As a global citizen, she created an at-home exchange experience with a secondary school in Madrid, Spain.
"I am so grateful for all of these unique opportunities since they have helped shape who I am as an educator," she says. "They have served as building blocks for me to be able to provide the type of educational experiences that I believe all children deserve."
Throughout our interview process, Alejandra clearly illustrated her passion for education, her belief in a student-centered vision, and her commitment and desire to support Shorewood's mission and make Lake Bluff a joyful place to learn and work.
"I could go on and on about what I am most looking forward to in my new position at Lake Bluff," says Alejandra. "There are so many dynamic things happening in this wonderful learning community. I'm looking forward to continuing to educate and empower our learners. I am looking forward to serving our staff, families, and learners. Most of all, I am so excited to live the values that make Shorewood the incredible community that it is. The approach taken to educating the whole child is one that makes Shorewood unique and ensures that they are empowering a generation of changemakers. Thank you so much for this opportunity. It is such a privilege."
We are grateful to all of the parents, staff, and administrators who took the time to attend/watch the interviews, provide thoughtful and detailed feedback, and assist with the entire process over the past few weeks. Our hiring decision was driven by the extensive and powerful feedback we received on Alejandra.
"Alejandra was very thoughtful and genuine in her responses. She seems like a good listener, and a collaborator. I feel she would be willing to really listen and value teachers' input. She also seems very child focused- is all about the learner-and she's passionate about that," says one Lake Bluff staff member.
"I love Alejandra's genuine enthusiasm for our district, the kids, and the potential to be our principal. She was very intelligent with fantastic fact-based/data driven answers to the questions given. I appreciate how approachable, genuine, and positive she came across," says a Lake Bluff parent.
These sentiments are just a small sample of the many positive remarks that we received about Alejandra and we are confident that she is the right person for the job. We look forward to having her on our Shorewood Schools team and we can't wait to start our work together. I am confident she will make a profound and positive impact.
There will be an opportunity for you to meet Mrs. O.K. prior to the start of the upcoming school year and more information on this will be forthcoming.
As always, thank you for your unwavering support of Lake Bluff and our District. We greatly appreciate you. Hope you are enjoying your summer!
Take care,
Dr. JoAnn Sternke
Interim Superintendent, Shorewood School District