District 214 Makes Administrative Appointments

 The Township High School District 214 school board has appointed Steven Kellner, associate principal at , to director of staff support services; Christopher Marks, science teacher at John Hersey High School, to math/science division head at ; and Dr. Alan Wahlert, social science division head at Dundee Crown High School, to social science/world language/English Language Learners division head at Wheeling High School.    

A veteran educator, Kellner began his education career in 1994 as a social studies teacher at Community High School in West Chicago.  He has taught English and speech communication and performance and created two television production courses. Four years ago, he joined Wheeling High School’s administrative team as social science/foreign language/English Language Learners division head. One year later, he became associate principal. In this role, Kellner implemented the school-wide interdisciplinary STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) for ALL initiative, as well as a rigorous college preparatory program for underserved students, facilitated school-wide professional development, and created a collaborative and successful team for ongoing program evaluation as an AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) site coordinator. Kellner has a bachelor’s degree in history and speech communication from Indiana University and a master’s degree in educational leadership from Loyola University Chicago.    

Marks will bring a wealth of experience to his role as math/science division head. As a Hersey science teacher for 12 years, he has taught various disciplines, including biology, chemistry, physical science, and AP Environmental Science at a variety of levels and all secondary grade levels. He developed the school’s AP Environmental Science curriculum, a course that had never been taught in District 214; and as an independent consultant for science instruction, he has led science departments in numerous schools towards development of an integrated, skills-based science curriculum with the purpose of maximizing student achievement. He recently served as a Professional Learning Community leader within his department where he guided the development of course and unit objectives and aligned exams and instructional materials. Marks has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois and a master’s degree from Northern Illinois University.    

Wahlert is returning to District 214 after serving three years as social science division head at Dundee Crown High School. He taught social science at Rolling Meadows High School for five years while serving in several leadership positions. In his current position, his focus is on creating common course curricula and assessments based on the College Readiness Standards and Common Core Standards. Wahlert has led his department’s curriculum mapping process while supporting division heads and teachers in other departments, and he has worked with division heads throughout his district to design a late start system that allows time for bimonthly two-hour professional development. Wahlert has a bachelor’s degree from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, a master’s degree from DePaul University, and a doctorate’s from Loyola University Chicago.