VVSD Board Names Next Principal Of Mitchem Early Childhood Center

BOLINGBROOK, IL — Valley View School District 365U Board of Education has approved Tionia Williams as the next principal of Dr. James A. Mitchem Jr. Early Childhood Center, according to a release from the district.

Williams will succeed current principal Jacci Brown upon her retirement after the 2022-23 school year, the district said. The coming school year will serve as a transition year in which Williams, Brown and Assistant Principal Karina Lopez will work collaboratively with the entire JMECC Team and community to ensure a smooth transition in leadership, the district said.

Williams is a familiar face at JMECC as she served as assistant principal until a year ago when she accepted a position as Director of Early Learning and Educational Grants in East Aurora School District 131, the district said.

Williams started at Valley View in 2005 when she worked as a teacher assistant at Bolingbrook’s Humphrey Middle School. One year later, she joined the VVSD Early Childhood staff as a classroom assistant, and then in January 2007, became an early childhood teacher and eventually, assistant principal, the district said.

Williams earned her Bachelor of Science Degree in Early Childhood Special Education from Iowa State University in 1992. She also holds two Master’s degrees earned at Lewis University; the first master’s was completed in 2014 in special education, followed by a master’s in educational leadership in 2017.