Former Hauser teacher tabbed as S.E. Gross principal

If the new principal at S.E. Gross Middle School in Brookfield looks familiar, it’s no coincidence. Last Thursday, the Brookfield-LaGrange Park School District 95 board voted unanimously to hire Todd Fitzgerald as the new middle school principal, just a year after Fitzgerald left Hauser Junior High School in Riverside, where he taught social studies for nine years.

In addition, Fitzgerald is probably also familiar to many at Riverside-Brookfield High School, where he coached both boys basketball and baseball. Now the 33-year-old Chicago resident is back in the area, after serving for one year as assistant principal at Westmont Junior High in Unit District 201.

“Being in the area so long, it became very clear that the school here, its teachers and students, were very serious about academics and extracurriculars, and had a lot of community support,” Fitzgerald said.

“It seems like they’re moving ahead in many areas, whether you look at test scores or curriculum development. I want to continue to build on that momentum. It’s something I’m excited about doing.”

Fitzgerald will take the helm at S.E. Gross School on July 1, replacing Thomas Hurlburt, who becomes the district’s superintendent on that date. Hurlburt, meanwhile, will replace Superintendent Douglas Rudig, whose last day on the job is June 30. Rudig, who was hired to lead District 95 in 2000, is leaving to become superintendent of Elmwood Park Unit District 401.

Fitzgerald’s base salary will be $79,000 for the 2006-07 school year, according to the contract approved by board members.

The circumstances under which Fitzgerald takes over at the middle school are very similar to the ones under which Hurlburt, 39, came in back when he was hired in 2001. One of Rudig’s first major decisions was to hire Hurlburt, then a 34-year-old assistant principal at Park Junior High in LaGrange Park.

“He’s very child-centered, and that was very clear when he was here for a half-day meeting with all grade levels,” Hurlburt said of Fitzgerald. “He just connected with the students instantly. He’s very positive and he’s a problem solver. He’s also looking to do things collaboratively with staff and parents.”

A native of the southwest suburbs, Fitzgerald in 1995 received his bachelor’s degree in history with a minor in secondary education from Valparaiso University, where he played baseball. He landed a job immediately as a social studies teacher at Hauser Junior High in Riverside, the first teacher hired by then-Principal Joel Benton.

During a nine-year career at Hauser, Fitzgerald also coached basketball and soccer.

“I think it’s a great move for Gross,” said Butch Berwanger, longtime guidance counselor and athletic director at Hauser Junior High. “He’s a hard worker who gets along real well with the kids and his colleagues. I wish him the best.”

He also started coaching on the high school level, first at Fenwick High School. Later, at RB, he was an assistant boys basketball coach for two years and head sophomore baseball coach for three years.

“He’s an excellent man with the highest integrity and character,” said RB Superintendent/Principal Jack Baldermann, who knows Fitzgerald from his days coaching at RB. “I wish him the very best and look forward to working with him.”

In 2002, Fitzgerald received his master’s degree in history from Northeastern Illinois University and obtained his master’s in school leadership from Northeastern Illinois in 2005. He left the classroom for the school office during the 2005-06 school year after being hired as an assistant principal at Westmont Junior High.

“I didn’t think it would happen so quickly,” Fitzgerald said of his new position as principal. “Having an opportunity like this at this point in my career was too good to pass up.

“I miss not having kids in the classroom, but I feel that there are a lot of opportunities for administrators to make decisions that impact the entire student body. That was the most appealing part of being part of administration.”

Having worked in both the junior high and middle school models (although Westmont retained its junior high name, it was a middle school), Fitzgerald said he’s looking forward to continuing working within the middle school format.

“One of the things I like most about middle schools is the opportunity to meet with grade-level teams and look at students who are struggling and come up with interventions that bring about improvements academically or behaviorally.”