Principal Named For Elmhurst Elementary School

ELMHURST, IL – A Chicago Public Schools assistant principal was appointed Tuesday as the new principal of Elmhurst's Jackson Elementary School.

The Elmhurst School District 205 board unanimously approved the administration's recommendation of Krista Rajanen, who works at Chicago's Norwood Park Elementary School, as the new principal. Her first day is Aug. 1.

Rajanen replaces Christine Trendel, who has been named the director of curriculum and instruction for River Forest District 90, starting in July. Trendel has been the principal for seven years.

Rajanen has 14 years in education, the last six as Norwood Park's assistant principal.

According to her LinkedIn page, Rajanen was a resident principal from 2017 to 2018 at Chicago's Westinghouse College Prep High School. The resident principal program is designed to prepare future school leaders. That experience, Superintendent Keisha Campbell told the school board, would be particularly valuable in Elmhurst, where the district includes all grades.

Rajanen was a special education teacher in the Chicago Public Schools from 2010 to 2017. She received her doctorate in education in 2021 at the University of Illinois Chicago.

Both Jackson and Norwood Park elementary schools have relatively few students who come from low-income families – 6 percent at Jackson and 14 percent at Norwood Park, according to the Illinois Report Card. That compares to nearly half statewide.

Rajanen was among 52 applicants for the principal's job. Sixteen were screened, of which six took part in a second round of interviews at the central office, according to a district memo.

Three finalists were interviewed at Jackson.

Rajanen's salary is set at $130,000.