New District 111 cabinet position to oversee student success, diverse programs

KANKAKEE – A new superintendent’s cabinet position has been created and filled in Kankakee School District 111.

The District 111 board on Monday approved the hire of Patricia Gonzalez as assistant superintendent of student success and diverse programs.

Gonzalez is slated to begin July 1 with a salary of $155,000 per year.

Gonzalez has a doctorate in urban education leadership from the University of Illinois, a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from Olivet Nazarene University, a master’s degree in education administration and supervision from National Louis University, and a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Illinois, according to board documents.

Her past work experience has included positions as manager of school support for the Independent School Principals Network, instructional support leader, assistant superintendent for teaching and learning, and professor of educational leadership.

Superintendent Teresa Lance said Gonzalez will be in charge of overseeing the district’s multilingual program, special education program, student success department and health services.

Some of the responsibilities that fell under Kelly Gilbert, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, will shift over to the new department headed by Gonzalez.

The change will allow Gilbert to focus on the areas of curriculum, teaching and learning, Lance said.

“Although they’ll be working in tandem together, it’s really important we have someone who specializes in all things English language learners, as well as special education,” Lance said. “Although Dr. Gilbert has the ability to do that, it’s such a massive role to have one person do it. We needed to break it out into two.”

Lance’s other two cabinet positions are filled by Harrison Neal, assistant superintendent of business services, and James Henderson, interim assistant superintendent of human resources.

Gonzalez, who is currently a professor of the educational leadership graduate program at National Louis University, said the city of Kankakee feels like “kindred spirits” with the South Side of Chicago, where she grew up and began her teaching career.

“Chicago is a very diverse, very [culturally] rich, very dynamic city,” she said. “When I made the decision to try something different from Chicago Public Schools, I was looking for similar settings. That’s just my passion. I feel that that’s always been my calling.”

Gonzalez noted that she is a first-generation student of an immigrant family from Mexico, so she knows firsthand how cultural barriers, especially when it comes to language, can hinder family involvement in schools.

Her goal is for bilingual education and cultural responsiveness to serve as a bridge to those communities, she said.

“I just see so much potential in Kankakee,” Gonzalez said. “To me, it’s a diamond in the rough. I enjoy a challenge, and my goal here is to unearth it and polish it up, and make sure it’s a shining example in the county and in the region. I’m really excited to be a part of that work.”