Minooka Community High School Announces Principal

Editor's Note: Information in this post was submitted in press release form from Minooka Community High School.

The District #111 Board of Education approved the hiring of Darcie Kubinski as the new principal for Minooka Community High School during its meeting August 16. Kubinski comes to MCHS from , where she has served as associate principal since 2010.  Kubinski, who now has a three-year contract with MCHS District #111, will succeed Bob Williams, who has assumed the role of the district's Director of Curriculum and Instruction after serving eight years as MCHS Principal.

“I am very excited to be able to serve our community as the next principal of MCHS,” Kubinski said. “As an enthusiastic educator, parent, and community member, I am looking forward to working closely with the faculty, students, and parents, and becoming an Indian.”

Although she will not have her first official day as principal at MCHS until August 20, Kubinski has already established some initial areas of focus for the year.

“My primary goal this year is to build positive, trusting and cooperative relationships with the faculty, students and parents at MCHS,” she said.  “Strong relationships are the foundation for organizational trust and effectiveness.

"Having honest, open dialogue will allow me to gain a deepened understanding of the culture, priorities and direction of the district as I provide consistency and leadership in accomplishing the school’s goals.”

In light of accomplishing the school’s goals, Kubinski cited the importance of the district’s strategic plan and its purpose in guiding the district.  

“I am very impressed with the district’s strategic plan, the cooperative approach used to develop it, and the clear purpose and focus that the plan provides for the school,” she said. “I am looking forward to working cooperatively with the dedicated faculty, parents, students and administration as we continue forward with meaningful and effective practices aligned with each goal and prepare our graduates for any and all post-secondary endeavors.”

As she transitions into her new role at MCHS, Kubinski said she looks forward to learning from Williams and his experiences as principal. 

“It is a wonderful opportunity to be able to work alongside a tenured leader that holds such an indubitable reputation with the stakeholders of MCHS,” Kubinski said. “Hearing the core values attributed to Bob’s successful leadership, there are apparent similarities of honesty, integrity and collaboration that I am committed to in my servant leadership approach. 

"I look forward to his mentorship and continued leadership.” 

While time to conduct a principal search was somewhat limited due to the timing of district’s recent, Superintendent James Colyott believes the process and its results were successful.

“The Minooka Community High School Board of Education values the input of its stakeholders when selecting its leaders,” Colyott said. “We have completed a rigorous application and interview process, which included involvement from parents, community members, faculty, and staff.

Colyott said parent and community member imput played a role in the selection.

“The top two priorities identified by the parents and community members included a ‘focus on a student-first philosophy’ and ‘the ability to inspire trust among staff, students, and families,’" he said. "Our staff responses also indicated the importance of ‘inspiring trust,’ but also cited the new principal should have a ‘willingness to listen to input, yet make decisions when necessary.’"

Kubinski is a graduate of Plainfield High School, where she also earned the majority of her educational experience. Kubinski began her career as an elementary education teacher at St. Dennis Grade School in Lockport from 2000 to 2002.  From 2003 to 2008, she served as School Psychologist for Plainfield South and North High Schools.  She began her administrative career in 2008, where she served as Plainfield Community Consolidated School District #202’s Special Education Administrator through 2010, at which point she advanced to her most recent position in the district as Associate Principal of Plainfield Central High School.  Kubinski has a BA in Elementary Education and Psychology from the (2000), a MA in School Psychology from Governor’s State University (2002), and a MS in Educational Leadership from the University of St. Francis (2009).  She is also currently enrolled in a Doctoral of Education program at the University of St. Francis.

Kubinski, her husband, Richard, and their daughters Teagan (7) and Calleigh (4) live in