By Kathy Farren
Yorkville School Board members hired both of their finalists Monday- one as the next superintendent and the other as the associate superintendent.
Dr. Scott Wakeley will be the new superintendent and Tim Shimp, current Yorkville High School principal, will be the associate superintendent. Wakeley is the superintendent of the Genoa-Kingston School District in northern DeKalb County.
The two men were named as finalists for the Yorkville School District superintendent position at the board’s Feb. 22 meeting.
In a statement issued after their special meeting Monday night, the board said they expect the two to act in a collaborative way to lead the district, with Wakeley the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Shimp the Chief Operating Officer (COO) or “in academic terms Chief Academic Officer.”
They will replace Dr. Thomas Engler, superintendent since 1992, and Assistant Superintendent for Instruction Doug Trumble, who are both retiring June 30.
Wakeley said he became familiar with Yorkville when his family attended church here while living in eastern Kendall County when he worked in Plainfield. “There is nothing in the world I would rather do than be superintendent in Yorkville,” he said.
“I have a great job today, that I’m resigning tomorrow, in a community that appreciates good education. I wouldn’t move my family anyplace that didn’t,” Wakeley said.
He expressed enthusiasm at the opportunity to work with Shimp saying “We’re more alike than different.”
Saying it was “humbling to work in this district with so many talented people,” Shimp said he was “blessed” to spend the last three years at Yorkville High School and “ecstatic” at the opportunity to work with the kindergarten to eighth grade level.
“We have a leader in Scott that is second to none,” Shimp said. He said he loves Yorkville, adding “There is no other place I want to be. This is our home.”
Asked if he was surprised by the board’s decision to hire both of them, Wakeley said, “Yes and no. Surprised they were creative enough to say we have two really good candidates. How can we have them both?”
Shimp said he found the offer, “surprising but intriguing.”
Both men and the board talked about the different management style they envision with these appointments.
“This collaborative style is becoming the model for fast track organizations to help bring necessary changes in very fluid environments,” the board’s statement said.
Board President Dr. Robert Brenart said the board expected the hiring would result in a “flatter management style,” with ideas coming from classroom teachers, too, not just the top administrators.
Brenart said the board has talked about this type of structure for a couple of years, since the last strategic planning took place. Board member Dr. Lynn Burks said they thought they would have to pick the superintendent first and then find an individual to work with that person. However, after interviewing both Wakeley and Shimp, they felt they could hire for both positions now.
Both men are well-versed in curriculum ideas, Burks said, and balance each other in ways which the board feels will make for a smoother transition. Since Shimp has already been working in the district, they can “hit the ground running,” she said.
Wakeley and Shimp said they talked to each other about the possibility and both thought it would be good for the district. “It’s very forward thinking. It doesn’t happen a lot of places,” Wakeley said.
They will continue to meet over the next few months to see what needs to be done. They will be working with- and getting ideas from- other administrators as well as classroom teachers.
With the “flatter” management style, Shimp explained, “Everybody will have more input into the processes. If a fourth grade teacher has a good idea, we want to hear it. We don’t have to have the best ideas.”
Burks said she envisioned the men sharing the job of representing the district in the community, with perhaps one meeting with the Yorkville Chamber of Commerce board and the other with the Yorkville Economic Development Corporation board. Currently, Engler serves on both boards.
Brenart said, “A lot of organizations are going to this type of collaborative structure. “These two people understand the philosophy and are willing to work with it.”
Although the vote to hire the two men for these positions was unanimous, board member Dr. Kimberly Sullivan said she looked forward to getting public input on the change in administration.
About 40 people, mostly district staff members, filled the board room and lined up after the meeting to shake the two men’s hands.
Their experience
Dr. Wakeley, 42, has been the superintendent of the Genoa-Kingston Unit School District since 2004. Before that, he spent one year as Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Assessment in Evergreen Park School District and seven years in the Plainfield School District. He was the assistant principal of Timber Ridge Middle School and later principal of Grand Prairie Elementary School and Drauden Middle School in the Plainfield district.
From 1995 to 1996, he was the private placement coordinator/ psychologist at Lockport Township High School. He worked as the Dean of Students and school psychologist at Clifton Central High School in Clifton, Ill., south of Kankakee in Iroquois County. He was an educational diagnostician with the Kankakee Area Special Education Cooperative in Kankakee.
Wakeley earned a Bachelor of Science in psychology from Olivet Nazarene University in 1990. He earned a Master of Arts in psychology in 1993 and a Master of Arts in education administration in 1999, both from Governors State University. He earned an Educational Specialist degree in education administration in 2003 and a Doctorate in Education in educational leadership in 2006, both from Northern Illinois University.
He graduated from high school in Momence, Ill., where his father served as superintendent. He and his wife have three children.
Shimp, 39, has been the principal at YHS since 2007. He was responsible for the planning and opening for the YHS Freshmen Academy and its schedule and programs aimed at providing additional academic help for first year students. He was instrumental in adding the new Access period at the high school and is also leading a team reviewing weighted grades and a possible new bell schedule.
Before coming to Yorkville, Shimp spent eight years at Hinsdale Central High School- four as Dean of Students and four as Assistant Principal for Instruction and Technology. From 1993 to 1999, he was a teacher and counselor at West Leyden High School in Northlake. He taught English, biology, math and physical science in special education classrooms.
At Hinsdale, he worked on the District Steering Committee, Technology Leadership Team, Instructional Council and Curriculum Development and Renewal Committee. He was the National Honor Society sponsor and Peer Leadership program sponsor at Hinsdale Central, and the varsity baseball coach and varsity football coach from 1994 to 1999 at Leyden High Schools.
A graduate of St. Viator High School in Arlington Heights, he earned a Bachelor of Science in special education (learning disabilities and behavior disorders) from Illinois State University in 1992 and a Master of Science in educational administration from Northern Illinois University in 1998. He has completed work toward a doctorate in educational administration.
Shimp and his wife and four children live in Yorkville.
Their contracts
Both Wakeley and Shimp will start their new jobs on July 1, with three year contracts. Wakeley will be paid $185,000 and Shimp $155,000 compared to this year’s salaries of $272,335 for Engler and $188,857 for Trumble.
Shimp will receive a $10,000 increase in his salary beginning with the next school year after he has earned his doctoral degree. Wakeley will be reimbursed for up to $5,500 in moving expenses.
Their contracts also call for the district to pay their required contributions to the Illinois Teachers’ Retirement System and the Teacher Health Insurance Security Fund. They will each get a $400 a month travel allowance for in-district travel, full family medical, dental and vision insurance. and a term life insurance policy of $100,000.
Each will get 20 vacation days, 12 sick days, and two personal days.
Both will be required to have annual medical examinations, with the district paying up to $500 for the cost of each.
Thanked for helping
Burks, who served on the Superintendent Search Committee, thanked several people for their help in the process. She mentioned the Proact Search firm, board attorney Stan Eisenhammer and the superintendent’s secretary, Cathy Anderson. She also mentioned those who provided space for interviews and meetings, including Nancy Wilson at Rush-Copley, Mary Wallback at DeVry University, Joel Ottosen at Castle Insurance and Bob Pilmer.
She thanked the staff members, business people and parents who interviewed the finalists on Feb. 24 and provided what she called “13 pages of extremely insightful comments.”
Board member Steve Gengler thanked the Search Committee and said, “We had 111 applicants and I think these two guys are the best we can get. They’ll take us to a new level.”