Brown named new superintendent of District 73 in Vernon Hills

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Nick Brown, incoming Community School District 73 superintendent, talks with staff and administrators while on a tour of the district. | Rob Dicker~Sun-Times Media

Updated: March 3, 2012 8:08AM

Nicholas G. Brown will replace Susan Zook as superintendent of Community School District 73 in Vernon Hills starting July 1, the board announced Monday night.

After narrowing the original 65 applicants down to three, Hawthorn School District’s nearly five-month application and interview process ended with Brown because board members felt he possessed a full understanding of the educational institution’s need for continued multi-faceted leadership.

“I have extensive experience leading at the building and at the district level; these leadership roles have required me to develop a deep understanding of the impact of all decisions on the student,” Brown noted in a press release.

Within the last 20 years, Brown has embraced a variety of roles within the educational institution.

He began in 1991 as a student teacher and as an instructional assistant in Special Education at the Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township in Indiana, and later assumed the role as an elementary teacher for both the Speedway and Avon School Corporations for seven years after 1991.

Brown’s experience overlooking educational operations began as principal for Shelbyville Central Schools and later Center Grove School Corporation over the span of seven years, and later escalated to the level of superintendent for Porter Township School Corporation from 2005 to 2011.

Fine background

Community, parent, staff, administration and board member focus groups evaluating the different applicants noticed that Brown’s resume boasted both an impressive and ambitious background that met their criteria.

Board President Tim Shanahan explained in the press release that Brown not only came into the process with impressive experience and a learner-centered philosophy, but he also came in with a well-researched understanding of Hawthorn.

“He really did his homework,” Shanahan noted.

Brown looks forward to commencing his work on the school board and continuing to add to successes already achieved at Hawthorn. He will be attending the board’s Feb. 27 and 28 meetings in the days leading up to his new leadership.

Susan Zook will finish her three-year tenure as District 73 Superintendent on June 30, 2012. A top reason Zook has said contributed to her decision was time-sensitivity with regard to restrictions that may be imposed on retirement benefits by the state in the future. Her age and length of service currently enable her to receive 75 percent of the average of her highest four consecutive salary years.

Zook’s retirement ends her nearly 19-year history with the district, in which she began as assistant principal of the junior high school and moved on become principal, director, assistant superintendent and superintendent elect. She has had 35 years of public education experience in total, and feels honored to have served the Hawthorn community.