Batavia school district announces new superintendent

Batavia Public School District 101 has announced that Tom Kim will become the district’s new superintendent in July.

Kim will succeed Superintendent Lisa Hichens, who will retire at the end of this school year.

According to a news release, Kim is currently the assistant superintendent for human resources of Niles Township High School District 219, where he has worked since 2018. Prior to that, he was an associate superintendent for human resources in Community High School District 155 in Crystal Lake.

“The board is very excited to welcome Mr. Kim to BPS101. The board chose Mr. Kim based on his commitment to educational equity and student learning. He comes to us with a proven track record of relationship building and community engagement,” school board President Cathy Dremel stated in the release.

Kim is an Illinois Association of School Personnel Administrators member and was named the New Human Resource Administrator of the Year for Illinois in 2019, the release stated.

Kim was born in Chicago and graduated from Niles North High School. From there, he went to North Park University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in history and a teaching endorsement while playing football for four years. During his teaching years, he received his master’s degree in school leadership from Aurora University and his superintendent endorsement from Loyola University, the release stated.

“I am very fortunate to have experienced a career with a wide variety of aspects in the education profession. As a teacher, coach and school leader, my lens has been shaped by incredible students and colleagues. I will use that to create a strong learning environment in BPS101,” Kim stated in the release.