Jeffrey McHugh
Jeffrey McHugh, the new superintendent of Glen Ellyn Elementary District 41, officially took the helm on July 1, but he’s already a familiar face.
McHugh has been on a districtwide listening tour over the last six months. He’s met individually with principals and school board members. He’s visited all five of the district’s schools, spending about a half-day at each. And McHugh has plans to create advisory councils, one involving students and another comprised of both parents and households who don’t have children in the school system.
“Coming in, I would say my single biggest priority is to listen, to learn, to ask questions of as many people in — and not just families — but in the community, the broader community, as I possibly can,” he said. “I’ve started, but there’s a lot. And that’s going to be the work of the summer into the fall.”
Over his career, McHugh has worked as a second-grade teacher, librarian, principal and, most recently, as the deputy superintendent for Lake Forest Districts 67 and 115. He describes his old office as “very bare-bones.” His new one seems that way, too.
“I’m not going to be in my office a lot this fall because I need to be out in schools, in the community, listening, learning and asking questions,” McHugh told the school board last month.
New Glen Ellyn Elementary District 41 Superintendent Jeffrey McHugh meets with students.
Courtesy of District 41
With the start of the new school year approaching on Aug. 21, McHugh is eager to get to know the district’s students and, conversely, for people to know him and what he’s about. His mom was a third-grade teacher in Oak Forest, and McHugh still considers himself a teacher at heart. Ask him about his leadership style, and he talks about being collaborative and putting “relationships first.”
“This isn’t my district. I’m the superintendent. It’s not my district … It’s the community’s district,” McHugh said.
Meanwhile, construction crews are starting to pave the way for a new classroom addition to Churchill Elementary that will allow the district to provide full-day kindergarten starting in the fall of 2025. The project is estimated to cost $28 million.
McHugh’s previous district had a full-day kindergarten program. Educators can work on those “rigorous academics,” he said, but also make it “socially and emotionally and developmentally appropriate with play.”
District 41 families will still have the option of a half-day experience.
“Some people feel like half day is better for them. Other people want that full day, and I think the beauty next year is we’re going to have that option for our families that right now doesn’t exist,” McHugh said.
Another goal is a fall review of the district’s five-year strategic plan, which, among other things, aims to accelerate academic growth and close opportunity and achievement gaps.
“We’re going to be about at the midpoint coming up pretty soon,” McHugh said during the school board meeting in June. “This is a perfect time to take an audit, a midpoint review of where are we? Are we on target for our goals? What needs to be refined?”
As part of his entry plan heading into the fall, McHugh will “maintain a visible presence in each school community” by attending faculty and PTA meetings and co-curricular events.
“Because I have a great team to carry out the work, my job, I feel, is let me make sure I get all these perspectives to help lead the team to make decisions that are going to be best by kids … I will be living — living — in these communities that I serve quite a bit,” he said, “so you’re going to see me everywhere, I hope.”