Robyn Rippel returned to her elementary alma mater Tuesday to serve as interim principal.
Formerly a longtime employee of Naperville School District 203, Rippel started this week as interim principal of Mill Street Elementary School, replacing Mary Baum, who had been principal the last four years. Baum was hired last month as the assistant superintendent for learning and teaching for Elmhurst School District 205.
“Robyn has agreed to come back to us in this year of transition in that vacancy. It is nice to have someone familiar with District 203 in the principal’s work here in the district,” Superintendent Dan Bridges said at Monday’s board meeting.
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“Robyn’s experience in the district and as principal is really going to be a welcome for them as we go through a year of transition here and go through a process to select a principal for the 2017-18 school year,” he said.
She will be interim principal at the Title I school as the district begins its search and gathers input from the staff and Mill Street community on a permanent principal.
Rippel left District 203 in 2015 to serve as a crime prevention specialist with the Naperville Police Department. As such, her duties last year brought her to Mill Street School weekly to coordinate a reading program.
“I’m honored for the opportunity to work with and serve the Mill Street community,” Rippel said in a statement. “I’m committed to developing positive relationships while remaining focused on the district’s mission in order to provide a safe and challenging learning environment for all students.”
In addition to attending Mill Street School as a student, Rippel served as principal for several District 203 schools.
She started her career in education in 1990 in Brookfield School District 95 and came to Naperville in 2005 as assistant principal at River Woods Elementary. From 2006-13, she worked as principal at both Beebe and River Woods elementary schools.
Rippel holds a master’s degree in educational leadership from National Louis University and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Augustana College.
She also is an instructor at North Central College. Ripple taught at the college from 1999-04 and returned in 2014 to teach a course on teacher leadership in the learning environment.
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