Taking inspiration from her own mother’s story, new U-46 superintendent’s ready to listen and learn

School District U-46 Superintendent Suzanne Johnson never forgot something her mother told her back when she had just been named principal of Bartlett High School.

It came from her mother’s own experience, and it’s inspired her approach to the job ever since, she said.

As the story goes, when Johnson’s mother was a child in grade school, she was having trouble with math. Her teacher was dismissive and seemed prejudiced against girls, she said. But when she asked her mother — Johnson’s grandmother — to speak to the teacher on her behalf, she refused.

“I was devastated when I heard this,” Johnson said. “My grandmother was the one who gave me confidence when I was growing up, but she felt uncomfortable going to talk to the teacher.”

The lesson was simple: “Make sure every parent feels welcome,” Johnson said.

As she heads into her first year as the superintendent of the state’s largest school district outside of Chicago, it’s something she’ll be practicing with every parent she meets, she said.

“We want every day to be a great day to learn,” she said, and parents play an integral role in that.

You also accomplish it by establishing a sense of connection among students, engaging them as they learn, making them aware of extracurricular activities, and encouraging interaction with teachers and other students, Johnson said.

It also means being aware of mental health, housing and other issues students might be experiencing outside of the classroom.

A self-described “second-generation (Elgin High School) Maroon,” Johnson comes to the job as an alumni of U-46 schools, the daugher of two U-46 school educators and an employee of the U-46 school district for her entire 26-year career.

Her first job was teaching language arts at Canton Middle School in Streamwood. She rose through the administrative ranks at Bartlett High School before making the transition to districtwide administration, first as assistant superintendent of teaching and learning and then as deputy superintendent.

She holds a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from the University of Illinois-Chicago.

Johnson was named interim superintendent in February following the departure of Tony Sanders, who left to become state superintendent of education. She started her new job July 1.

Johnson said she keeps in touch with Sanders, whom she considers a friend as well as a colleague.

“The advice he gave me was to make the job my own,” she said.

It’s an exciting time to be at the helm, she said, noting that voters resoundingly supported selling $179 million in school building bonds to help pay for a huge overhaul of the district’s school buildings and facilities.

With the momentum that’s created, “we have to be stewards of that energy,” Johnson said.

The improvements come at a time when the district also is rolling out its U-46 Rising Schools of Rigor and Equity initiative, which will eventually be used at all schools. The approach stresses team learning and problem solving, with teachers taking on the role of coaches.

“Education is a team sport,” Johnson said. “I appreciate the support I’ve received from staff and the board of education.”

But even with all she has on her plate, the new school year will begin Aug. 15 for her family just as it does for everyone else’s in the district, she said.

“We’ll be getting our two boys ready and sending them off to a U-46 school,” Johnson said.

Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.