It’s fair to say Bob Halverson is the first school superintendent in recent memory for East Aurora – at least the last half-century – to be born and raised in the district he now runs.
There’s no question the new leader of East Aurora District 131 has roots that run deep, going back a couple generations to when his grandmother was a student at Bardwell and later became president of the Krug PTO and a paraprofessional throughout the district’s elementary schools.
Oh, and his great uncle Al Platt was not only a PTO leader and head of the Bardwell Dads Club, he served on the District 131 School Board for 14 years and was its president for a year.
That history and certainly those family ties are important to Halverson, who was introduced as the new District 131 superintendent at Monday evening’s board meeting, and took over the reins the following morning.
Is he ready for such a quick transition?
It could be said that 47-year-old Halverson, who attended Krug through sixth grade, has been preparing for this job all his life.
Not that he eyed such a lofty title when he became a young teacher at Bardwell. Back then Halverson, armed with a degree in elementary education with an undergrad in sports management, had his eye on a college coaching career. But then-Principal Tom Hartman saw something special in the young P.E. teacher and fifth-grade intramurals coach: strong leadership potential.
Halverson, who also taught fourth grade and kindergarten, began showing off those administration skills at West Aurora School District 129, with stints as assistant principal at Greenman Elementary and as principal at Goodwin Elementary where, under his tutelage, exemplary ratings were earned three years in a row from the Illinois Board of Education.
Halverson’s dream, however, was to someday return to help lead East Aurora.
He got that chance last year when he gave up his job as assistant director of grants and accountability with District 129 to become the executive director of finance and grants for the crosstown rival.
Assuming Jennifer Norrell still had four years or so left in the role as superintendent of East Aurora, “I figured I could come over and see what the needs were. And when that position opened up, I would be ready,” he told me in a Tuesday phone interview just hours after leading his first cabinet meeting.
That opening popped up a lot sooner after Norrell announced in November she was stepping down to become superintendent of Homewood-Flossmoor Community High School District 233, where she once lived and where her mother still resides.
That call home is powerful, indeed.
Norrell originally intended to stay in her role with the district until the end of this school year. But the search to replace her seemed to quickly land on Halverson, who in the few months since joining East Aurora had earned a reputation as a great communicator and team builder.
“The board was 100% behind him,” said East Aurora school board President Annette Johnson, noting that Halverson was “always working” with staff in all the buildings to “help solve their problems.”
The new superintendent, she added, “is ready to hit the ground running.”
When I asked Halverson about the characteristics that made him the district’s top choice, he again brought up those strong family ties, noting that it was his grandparents, Joe and Mona Middleton, who taught him “there’s a reason you have two ears and one mouth,” and not the other way around.
“Teachers,” he said, “need to be heard a little bit more.”
Halverson, who lives in Sugar Grove with wife Ruby and their three sons, insists it’s all about bringing teams together for a common cause. And that means focusing on every player to help each one reach full potential.
If that sounds a lot like a coach, it should be noted Halverson held that title up until last year for oldest son R.J.’s basketball team and is still head coach for the 16-year-old’s baseball team. Of course, now that he’s superintendent of the oldest and 12th largest school district in the state, he realizes that role will also have to eventually be relinquished. After all, he noted, there are “big shoes to fill.”
Norrell, who made history as the first female superintendent of East Aurora and first African-American superintendent in Kane County, has indeed made an impact at District 131. She’s “put us on a trajectory to success,” said Johnson at Monday’s meeting, referring to higher test scores and graduation rates, as well as all the schools earning “commendable” ratings or higher.
Norrell, who will help with the transition to the new superintendent, also was known as a visionary. She championed the district’s PAWS Program, which put comfort dogs into the schools, and spearheaded the new grant-funded Resilience Education Center, as well as the upcoming high school career center that Halverson sees as a way to help “end the cycle of poverty” by not only teaching students the trades but offering night classes to parents as well.
Raised by a single mom working multiple jobs and the only one in his family to attend college, much less earn multiple advanced degrees, Halverson appreciates the importance of higher education. But as the grandson of a carpenter and son of a handyman who earned his GED through District 131, he also knows how vocational training, coupled with guidance, can impact lives.
Obviously saying farewell to Norrell and welcoming Halverson made for an emotional meeting earlier this week. It also should be noted that Brian Moreno, who was sworn in as the youngest board member in history for the district, was a former student of both Halverson and his wife, who met at Bardwell when she was a first-grade bilingual teacher.
It’s no wonder there was standing room only, with many former teachers from that school in attendance at Monday’s meeting.
Halverson admits he was nervous. He acknowledged during a short speech there will be a learning curve and that “there may be a time I need grace.” Still, no one can doubt the new superintendent’s passion for this job, for the kids whose futures likely will be impacted by his leadership, for their parents and for the Aurora community as a whole.
While driving around the district last fall Halverson had the chance to pass many locations that brought back “great seminal memories for me.”
Krug School was among them, as was his grandparents’ and mother’s homes on Elliott Avenue; the Fourth Street United Methodist Church, which his grandfather helped rebuild after fire damage in the 1980s; Phillips Park, where his grandparents would often take him; Garfield Park, where he played Aurora Boys Baseball; and the Platt Lighting store on Union Street, owned by his great uncle and where he “would spend countless hours” when his beloved grandmother worked there.
“Those adolescent experiences helped shape me,” he said, specifically referring to the “servant leadership” modeled by his “Papa” and “Nana,” who passed away in a short time span within the last 18 months.
“Therapeutic,” is how Halverson defined this reconnection to his childhood.
“It feels good,” he added, “to be home.”
dcrosby@tribpub.com
