Homewood-Flossmoor High School hires superintendent from East Aurora to lead district

The Homewood-Flossmoor High School District 233 voted Thursday morning to hire Jennifer Norrell as superintendent, beginning this summer.

Norrell, who was raised in the south suburbs, has been superintendent for eight years in East Aurora Elementary District 131 .

"She's a highly regarded, highly respected, extraordinarily successful superintendent in her current role," District 233 Board President Gerald Pauling said. "(She) has really driven the types of student achievement and performance that we're looking to continue at Homewood-Flossmoor."

Norrell was first African American superintendent in Kane County and in 2022 was named Superintendent of the Year for the Kishwaukee Illinois region, according to District 233.

Pauling said he hopes Norrell's experience in Aurora will allow her to build on the district's commitment to student academic success.

"Following the pandemic, we were seeing some some dips in our student performance," Pauling said. "That was natural and that happened across the educational spectrum, but we really wanted to be proactive about reclaiming our excellence, and so we wanted a superintendent with the demonstrated ability to drive high performance in the high school environment."

Norrell said she plans to be active in the Homewood-Flossmoor High School community before her official start date of July 1.

"I'm going to be thinking about all of the details of Homewood-Flossmoor High School — what's going on here and things that are working and ways that I can improve and how I can best fit into the work that is already happening," Norrell said Thursday.

Between posing for photos with some of the nearly 50 school staff and alumni who showed up to Thursday's special board meeting, Norrell detailed past teaching stints at schools in Crete and Bloom townships. Her daughter graduated from Flossmoor schools.

Norrell said her extensive history in the south suburbs influenced her decision to take the Homewood-Flossmoor position, which she believes will be her last.

"I really am thinking about, where do I want to end my career?" Norrell said. "When I see the students of H-F, I see myself, so I really want to come here and do great things."

The yearlong search came as District 233 Superintendent Scott Wakeley is scheduled to retire after three years of leading the district's two campuses. He previously was superintendent in Bradley, Yorkville and Genoa area districts.

Wakeley will finish out this school year before Norrell steps into the role this summer.