Following a seven-month search process, the Oak Park Elementary School District 97 Board of Education this week named Ushma Shah as its new superintendent.
Effective June 1, Shah will take over leading the district, which consists of eight elementary and two middle schools serving just under 5,700 pre-kindergarten through eighth grade students. It employs more than 900 staff members.
The school board voted unanimously Tuesday evening to hire Shah with a three-year contract that will pay her $222,500 annually.
Shah currently is Interim Chief Portfolio Officer for Chicago Public Schools and previously was Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Schools and Chief of Equity and Social Justice for 10 years with Elgin Area School District U-46.
“I’ll be entering the role with my ‘teacher lens’ on,” Shah told the school board Tuesday. “That identity serves me well, always thinking about planning, preparing and understanding context, strength, content and our purpose. Teachers think about sharing perspectives and being learners.”
In addition to an undergraduate degree from Knox College, Shah holds a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Illinois in Chicago and a Harvard University doctorate from the Urban Superintendents Program. She also has earned a Chief School Business Official endorsement to her Illinois superintendent license from Northern Illinois University.
Third-party firm Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates was hired last July to conduct a national search for the new superintendent, which followed the resignation last June of Carol Kelley. Griff Powell and Patricia Wernet were appointed to serve as co-interim superintendents for the current school year.
The search process involved an online survey and numerous community forums that concluded with two finalists for the superintendent job.
Following the vote approving her for the position, Shah told the school board: “One of the things I love is that the symbol for the district is the acorn and its connection to gardening and the relevance.”
Shah then challenged those listening with a homework assignment to consider three related concept words –plant, prune and trellis.
“Deciding where to plant a policy, and why, is the most important way to make a difference for children,” Shah said. “For pruning, when you zoom out and think of the district’s use of resources, you look at investments and ask where do you need to trim and prune. The third is trellis. I wonder, when you think of experiences for children in the district, where support needs to be built so that they can grow.”
“I’d like to tell you that your vision, your orientation and style are really inspiring and a good fit for our district and where we want to go,” school board member Gavin Kearney then told Shah. “We’re very excited to have you here.”
According to a district press release, Shah, 51, is married with two college-aged children. She and her husband of 28 years intend to move to Oak Park.
Officials said Shah will be working with the interim co-superintendents in the coming months to ensure a smooth transition when she takes over.
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“I’m looking forward to being back here at the table in June to figure this out together,” Shah said. “Thank you for the opportunity.”