District 204 Hires South Dakota Superintendent

JOLIET, IL -The Joliet Township High School Board of Education on Tuesday night unanimously approved the hiring of South Dakota administrator Mike Hanson as the next District 204 Superintendent. He will be a newcomer to Joliet. His hiring moves the school district in a different direction. The person he replaces, Cheryl McCarthy, has spent her entire public education career employed with District 204.

“Dr. Hanson rose to the top of the candidate pool based on the lens of the profile constructed by our community,” said Board of Education President Jeff Pierson, who announced last week he will not be running for re-election next year.

According to a District 204 press release, Hanson serves as superintendent of Hill City School District in South Dakota, a position he has held for over seven years. Prior to that, Hanson worked as a teacher, curriculum director, assistant principal, principal, and superintendent. His resume includes over 24 years in educational experience, with leadership roles in strategic planning, instructional design, and implementation of safety and security protocols, according to 204.

“I am beyond excited to join the Joliet Township High School family,” Hanson said in a press release. “From the minute I set foot in Joliet, it felt like home. The strength of the district’s strategic plan, the dedication of students, staff, families, and the wealth of collaborative community partnerships are just a few of the aspects that drew me to the district. I look forward to working with all of our stakeholders to uphold the tradition of excellence that has been established.”

Hanson will replace Cheryl McCarthy, who announced her plans to step down as superintendent this past summer, a story first reported by Joliet Patch.

Hanson was involved in controversy in South Dakota earlier this year involving a number of staff cuts that were implimented at his Hill City school district where he grappled with deficit spending, according to this news report by a South Dakota television station.

The television station quoted Hanson as saying, "Going through what we're going through there are many, many challenges. The board of education continues to work hard to do the utmost, to have the strongest educational programming for our students. And we're going to continue that outstanding excellence each and every day in our school district."

Hanson will take over Joliet's high school district in July.

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Image of Mike Hanson via District 204