District 214 Names New Administrators

The Director of Institutional Research for an Indiana community college and the Principal of Carl Sandburg Junior High in Rolling Meadows will join High School District 214 as new administrators for the 2014-2015 school year.

The Board of Education approved the appointments of Jeffrey Smith and Greta Rakow at its Thursday meeting. Smith was named Director of Research and Evaluation, replacing the retiring Steve Cordogan. Rakow was named Division Head for Social Science, World Language and English Language Learners at Rolling Meadows High School, replacing John Harrington, who was appointed principal of Grove Junior High in Elk Grove Village earlier this year.

Both appointments are effective July 1.

Smith began his education career in 2002 as a substitute teacher in Kentucky and served as an associate pastor at an Omaha, Neb. church before becoming a research fellow at Notre Dame’s Center for the Study of Latino Religion. He served three years as a research associate with the Missouri Department of Higher Education, where he provided policy analysis for senior staff and coordinated assessment policy and measurement, before becoming Director of Institutional Research at Ivy Tech Community College-Northeast in Fort Wayne, Ind. In his current role, he provides strategic planning counsel, coordinates assessment activities for curriculum development and pilot studies, works with academic departments on the development of surveys and other reporting tools and serves on the Student Success Committee. He also is an adjunct sociology instructor at the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne.

Smith holds a master’s degree in sociology from the University of Notre Dame, as well as a second master’s degree in divinity from Louisville Presbyterian Seminary.

Rakow started her career teaching social studies at middle and high schools in Crystal Lake and Huntley before becoming Social Studies Department Coordinator/Team Leader at Huntley High School and serving as the school’s Dean of Students and, later, Assistant Principal. In 2011, she was named to her current role at District 15’s Carl Sandburg Junior High. She has overseen staff evaluations, created and led school-wide professional development initiatives with a specific eye on college and career readiness for students and is a participant in all levels of Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) team training – a U.S. Department of Education-established framework also used at Rolling Meadows High School. In previous positions, she was responsible for special education services, coordinated programming for the freshman academy and standardized testing and handled student disciplinary procedures.

Rakow holds a master’s degree in educational leadership from Aurora University and a bachelor’s degree in history and secondary education from Valparaiso University in Indiana.