Rafael Roman-Melendez came to Waukegan from his native Puerto Rico in 2018 to teach history at Waukegan High School’s Washington campus, moving a year after Hurricane Maria caused major damage to the island.
Serving as the territory’s secretary of education between 2013 and 2017, overseeing all of its public schools from kindergarten through high school, he was recruited to Waukegan Community Unit School District 60 as a teacher. He said it was the right time to make the move.
“I came to Illinois to start a new life after the hurricane,” Roman-Melendez said.
Progressing as an educator, from teaching to history department chair at the Washington campus two years ago, District 60 Superintendent Theresa Plascencia chose Roman-Melendez to become the assistant principal at North Elementary School.
Roman-Melendez was one of two District 60 administrators promoted to assistant principal positions after receiving a vote of approval from the District 60 Board of Education Tuesday at the Education Service Center in Waukegan.
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DyAnnah Butler’s promotion from diverse learning coordinator at the high school’s Washington campus to assistant principal at the district’s Alternative Optional Education Center (AOEC) was also unanimously approved by the board.
After 27 years as an educator in Puerto Rico and Waukegan, Roman-Melendez said he is looking forward to becoming part of the North Elementary School community. He will be involved in all aspects of the school.
“I’m excited about the possibilities because I was a principal in Puerto Rico,” he said. “When I came to Illinois, I was starting again and learned about its school systems. My experience in every school is different. I’m looking forward to sharing new ideas with the staff.”
Seeing his job as giving support to North Elementary School Principal Nicole Lemberger, Roman-Melendez said he will be focused on doing what she believes will help the school achieve results for the students.
“I believe my experience will help me support the principal and help the school,” he said. “The most important thing is to benefit the school. I want to build relationships that will lead to growth opportunities.”
When Butler’s promotion was announced, loud cheers came from several of her colleagues from both the high school and the AOEC, as well as others. It lasted several minutes as she was personally congratulated by Plascencia and the board members.
“I felt so honored they were there,” Butler said. “I felt fully appreciated.”
Serving seven years as the diverse learning coordinator at the high school, Butler said her job was supporting students with an Individual Education Plan (IEP), of which there were between 265 and 300 during her tenure. Now she will help students from a variety of situations.
Though there may be some diverse learners at the AOEC, Butler said the students there chose the campus for a variety of reasons. Some may need a schedule allowing them to work to help their families. She looks forward to assisting all of them.
“They have an opportunity to be involved with everything in the high school,” Butler said. “They have a regular education program.”
With the goal of serving all the students on the campus, Butler said she already has a specific, relevant assignment from Principal Dee Bolos-Hartman. Bolos-Hartman is the co-principal for both the Washington campus and the AOEC.
“I’ll be working on the cell phone policy,” Butler said. “It’s not unique to Waukegan. It’s a nationwide issue. I’ll be looking at how to best deal with cell phone addiction.”