AT CLARK STREET M. Hill Hammock, retired chief operating officer for LaSalle Bank, has been appointed chief administrative officer, replacing David Vitale. Hammock will be responsible for all non-educational activities, including finance, real estate, technology, and support services. Unlike Vitale, who earned a token salary of $1 a year, Hammock’s salary will be $170,000. Vitale will remain as a senior advisor to CEO Arne Duncan.
NEW AREA OFFICERS Four former principals have been named area instructional officers: Area 1, Joseph Kallas, from Peterson; Area 3, Annette Gurley, from Clark Academic Prep High; Area 7, Denise Little, from Hefferan; Area 8, Leonard Moore, from Dvorak Academy. Another, Isabel Mesa-Collins from Drummond, is under consideration for Area 10.
MOVING IN/ON Gudelia Lopez, formerly of the CPS Office of Postsecondary Education, has been named education program officer at Chicago Community Trust, replacing Mark Rigdon, who is now national director of education for global philanthropy with JP Morgan Chase. … Alyson Cooke, formerly director of external resources and of the district’s Children First Fund, has returned to Capitol Hill to work for Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) on the Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works. Albert Sanchez is filling Cooke’s positions on an interim basis; a permanent replacement has not yet been named.
PRINCIPAL CONTRACTS Interim principals Gilberto Sanchez, North River, and Rebecca Stinson, Claremont, have been awarded new contracts. … Bernadette Butler, principal of Agassiz, was awarded a four-year contract at Ray, replacing Cydney Fields, who is retiring.
REN 2010 Bill Gerstein, former principal of the School of Entrepreneurship at South Shore, has left the school he founded to become the principal of Austin Polytech Academy, slated to open in September. Austin Polytech will focus on training students in manufacturing, and students will be required to apply for admission. This is a plus, says Gerstein, because students are more committed to their education when they choose which high school to go to. At South Shore, students are admitted based on attendance boundaries, then choose one of four small schools.
READING AWARD Timothy Shanahan, a former director of the district’s Chicago Reading Initiative, has been elected to the Reading Hall of Fame by the International Reading Association, the world’s largest professional organization devoted to literacy education. Shanahan has chaired the National Literacy Panel on Language Minority Children and Youth since 2002.
HEALTHY EATING AWARD Herbert Elementary was one of five schools to be awarded a $15,000 grant from the “Love Your Veggies” national school lunch campaign. Herbert will use the grant to open a veggie bar and create lesson plans to promote healthy eating.
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION Two CPS high school seniors were awarded Democracy in Action awards and $1,000 scholarships from the Union League Club of Chicago: Oscar Bahena, Steinmetz Academic Centre, and Anahi Tapia, Curie Metropolitan High. Students are nominated for exhibiting dedication to democratic principles, leadership and civic involvement.
GOLDEN APPLE SCHOLARS Twenty-four CPS students were named Golden Apple Scholars. They are eligible to receive up to $2,500 a year in scholarships at 53 Illinois universities, as well as mentoring, internships and ongoing training once they become teachers. They are Mercedes Smith, Austin; Marina Barboza and Jesus Serrano, Big Picture; Janese Nolan, Chicago Military Academy; Kiara Henderson, Corliss; Scarlett Mays, Curie; Bryan Riddle, Fenger; Kenyatta Johnson, Harlan; Delisa Edwards, Harper; Joshua McClendon, Julian; Cynthia Pulido, Kelly; Jordan Lanfair, Kenwood Academy; Alaina Parks and Linda Ramos, Lake View; Cynthia Watson, Lane Tech; Dawn Reed-Brooks, Mather; Jennifer Dennis, Morgan Park; Gresshen Nunez and America Topete, Noble Street Charter; Ernesto Garza, Northside College Prep; Jerry Crockrell, Phoenix Military Academy; Mariana Howard-Paez, Kathryn Manansala and Aquilla Mikel, Whitney Young.