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SYCAMORE – A new assistant principal will be walking the halls of Sycamore High School next year, but this will not be the first time at the facility for the new employee, according to a news release from the school district.
Sycamore Community School District 427 has hired Kate Hertz, a 1996 graduate of Sycamore High School, who will fill the shoes of Assistant Principal Brian Swanson when he assumes his new role as principal of the high school this summer.
“We are excited to welcome Kate Hertz back to Sycamore High School, this time as an assistant principal,” Swanson said. “Kate brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in teaching, instructional coaching and curriculum development. I am confident she will support our students, teachers and community in achieving our school and district goals.”
“I truly hope to be able to bring back what I’ve learned along my journey to encourage this generation of students that they, too, have a role to play and can make a difference in their communities.”
— Kate Hertz, incoming Sycamore High School assistance principal
After graduating 27 years ago, Hertz went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in English with an education minor from Illinois Wesleyan University before attaining master’s degrees in Educational Leadership and Teaching from Aurora University.
“While I’ve had a wide variety of experiences in my career, Sycamore has always been home. The values I carried with me in those experiences and the vision that I’ve developed along the way are fundamentally inspired by experiences I had in Sycamore schools,” Hertz, who began her teaching career as an English teacher at Geneva High School and most recently worked as an instructional coach, said in the release.
Hertz said she is excited to “return home” to Sycamore, where she plans to enhance the school’s teaching and learning models in an effort to generate greater student achievement.
“When I left [Sycamore High School] I was full of hope, determination, curiosity and a belief that I could make a difference as an educator because of the inspirational District 427 educators that poured into my passions and dreams,” Hertz said. “I truly hope to be able to bring back what I’ve learned along my journey to encourage this generation of students that they, too, have a role to play and can make a difference in their communities.”