Name: Dr. Johnnie Thomas

Title: Superintendent for Community High School District 155 as of July 2012.

Most Recent Position: Served as asssociate superintendent for student services at Township High School District 214 in Arlington Heights. With 13,000 students, District 214 is the second-largest high school district in Illinois.

Dr. Thomas "helped elevate the district's student support and achievement efforts at District 214's six high schools - Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove, Hersey, Prospect, Rolling Meadows and Wheeling - as well as the district's two alternative schools," according to District 155. 

Previous Work Experience: Prior to joining District 214, Dr. Thomas served in various capacities at Valley View School District 365-Unit in Romeoville and Chicago Public Schools.

Education: Bachelor's degree from Southern Illinois University, master's degree in social work from Loyola University in Chicago, and doctorate in educational leadership from DePaul University.

Impressions of District 155:

"I really believe in the staff, the teachers, the administration, the business office, and I have total confidence in them to do what's best for the community," Dr. Thomas said. "This is a fairly large district (about 7,000 students), but it definitely has more of a family feel to it."

"I will work to build the best collaborative teams ....to keep the district moving foward in regards to having students work-ready and college-ready upon graduation."

Work Style: "I do allow a tremendous amount of dialogue so that once we make a decision, it's a district-wide decision, not just a superintendent's decision. We will work hard to continue to examine the programs we have and continue to build partnerships within the community."

Service Affiliations: Advisory board member Loyola University of Education; member Council for Exceptional Children; American Association of School Administrators; Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development; previous board member Illinois Alliance of Administrators of Special Education; and previous vice president DuPage Township Youth Taskforce Board.

Students in Community High School District 155 - which includes Crystal Lake South, Crystal Lake Central, Cary-Grove and Prairie Ridge high schools - begin the new school year on Monday, Aug. 27. (Good news: it's a late-start Monday!)