A veteran educator with ties to the Niles Township High School District 219 superintendent is set to join the district administration.
At its March 14 meeting, the District 219 school board unanimously approved the hiring of Roszena Haskins to serve in a newly-created role of deputy superintendent. The hiring means Haskins will once again be teamed with District 219 Superintendent Tom Moore.
The two worked together in the West Hartford, Connecticut public school system, where Haskins is currently employed. Moore left that district and started as District 219’s superintendent last summer.
Two other top District 219 administrators are departing at the end of the school year, according to information from a district spokeswoman, and Moore said that gave him an opportunity to consider the administration’s structure.
Sandra Arreguin, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, is leaving to become superintendent-elect for Avoca School District 37 in Wilmette.
Tom Kim, assistant superintendent of human resources, is also leaving, and has been named superintendent for Batavia Public School District 101.
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Haskins will be moving here from Connecticut and said she looks forward to working with Moore again.
“The role of deputy superintendent in a vibrant district like D219 was intriguing to me,” Haskins wrote in an e-mail. “To work with Superintendent Tom Moore again, a leader whom I trust and respect, was especially a draw for me.”
She said she does not have any other close to ties to the area, but has remained in touch with Moore.
Moore noted that with two of the D219 assistant superintendents, Arreguin and Kim, having been hired in other parts of the Chicago area, he was able to look at the administration structure.
“By adding a deputy superintendent, we have a clear structure in place in our leadership, and the focus on equity, recruitment and retention with this position is very important when looking at the needs of District 219,” Moore wrote in an e-mail. “The good fortune we have is that we were able to hire the absolute best candidate in Dr. Roszena Haskins. Her career in education has shown that she is someone that makes a tangible difference in student performance and in closing achievement gaps. I am so excited to have her as a partner in the important work ahead of us.”
Haskins, who will be paid a $225,000 salary, according to a district spokeswoman, has been a school and district administrator at the West Hartford public schools for the last 16 years, according to District 219. She also has a separate position as executive director of equity advancement for the municipality of West Hartford, she wrote in an email.
Prior to that, she had a series of pre-K through 12th grade education roles in both Connecticut and Virginia.
Haskins’s responsibilities will include the retention, recruitment and equity efforts for the school district.
The District 219 demographics indicate its students are approximately 39% white, 33% Asian, almost 16%Hispanic and just over 7% Black, according to information posted on the Illinois State Report Card.
“I have been yearning to return to my roots in secondary education and have had a desire to engage more directly with students,” she wrote. “The unique structure, size and community characteristics of Niles Township High School District 219 were appealing to me. I can see lots of opportunities to learn and lead from a student-centered perspective. I will strive to increase diversity in our educator workforce, to more closely reflect the diversity of the student body. The ability to focus on building relationships, coupled with attracting, inspiring and retaining diverse talent is exciting for me, and it is an area in which I have enjoyed success.”
Haskins is scheduled to start her new role in early July.