Indian Prairie School District 204 has officially selected its new superintendent: John Price, the current superintendent of North Chicago School District 187.
He will be taking over for District 204’s current Superintendent Adrian Talley starting July 1, when Talley’s contract with the district expires.
Talley announced in April that he would not be renewing his contract with the district, though the school board offered to renew it. He previously cited the timeline for his announcement as intended to give the school board sufficient time to select his replacement.
Since then, Indian Prairie’s school board has been searching for a new district superintendent, and had planned to select the new leader in December.
Now, Price is officially set to take over as superintendent on July 1, following a unanimous vote by the school board in support of his appointment at its meeting on Monday evening in Aurora.
Price, in an interview with The Beacon-News, said he came to a career in education “kind of by accident.”
He was finishing college, with plans to go to law school, but he didn’t want to do so immediately after graduation, he said. Then, he stumbled upon an opportunity to be a volunteer teacher in Chicago.
So, the California native began his teaching career at Our Lady of the Westside, a Catholic school in Chicago, where he taught seventh- and eighth-grade social studies and reading.
He went on to spend much of his career in Chicago Public Schools in various teaching and leadership roles, eventually serving as the leader of a network of its district schools, he explained. He then worked in Evanston as an assistant superintendent, and ultimately landed at North Chicago District 187 in 2017 as its superintendent.
There, Price said he’s most proud of the academic improvements District 187 has made during his time at the helm, pointing specifically to the increased graduation rates for the high school.
“That was a real pain point for the community when I arrived,” he recalled. “I think we were able to …make a great impact there, really turn the high school and really the opinion of the community about its schools around.”
According to data from the Illinois State Board of Education, District 187’s four-year graduation rate has seen a considerable uptick, from just over 71% in 2020 to almost 86% in 2025. When he started as its superintendent, that figure was just 56%.
In 2023, Price was recognized as Lake County’s superintendent of the year.
His time at North Chicago District 187 also taught him about “team-building” and working with senior leaders, skills he’s looking forward to bringing to Indian Prairie, he said.
Price said he became interested in the job at Indian Prairie District 204 after reading the job profile for it, which he recalled emphasizing the priorities of being a “student- and staff-centered leader,” of being present in schools and of working toward equity goals.
“And I thought, ‘That’s, that’s what I want to be held accountable to,’” he said. “And if I’ve got a board that’s pushing me in the same direction … that might just work.”
At Monday’s meeting, District 204 Board President Laurie Donahue described the search process, and noted that the selection was in part based on a survey of the characteristics the community wanted to see in the district’s new leader, things like integrity, approachability and visibility in schools and the community, care, compassion, effective communication and a value for equity.
At the meeting, Price — who was joined by his wife and two children — thanked Talley for his “time and openness” during the selection process, as well as the members of the interview teams and the board, and reflected on his time at North Chicago and the messages he’s received since announcing his upcoming resignation from his role there.
“No one has thanked me for strategic plan execution, or the increased (graduation) rate, lagging indicators or public success dashboards,” Price said. “No one has thanked me for the PowerPoints I created or even the curriculums that we purchased. The notes have thanked me for a short conversation when I asked about a child who had been sick, the time I introduced … a teacher’s son to a congressman and started him on a political career path, a scholarship that I awarded that gave a graduate the chance to pursue their dreams, or the acknowledgement of one of our teachers and their students that they received at a board meeting that made her students and her feel special and seen.”
Though things like strategic plans and data are important, he said, Price described how his departure from North Chicago has reminded him “what is indeed the most important about a leader and what makes the biggest impact on individuals.”
“What comes first and last are the ways that, as leaders, we make people feel,” Price said.
He pointed to priorities like advancing “an agenda of equity” and partnering with outside organizations like nonprofits, universities and community groups, and emphasized an approach much like the one he took on at District 187.
“I commit to beginning in Indian Prairie as I … will end in North Chicago: by showing up, especially where attention is most needed, by focusing on building relationships of trust and mutual care,” he said on Monday.
Also at the meeting, Dora King, who was the president of District 187’s Independent Authority from the time it was formed 13 years ago — when the Illinois State Board of Education took control of the district because of its unstable financial condition — until last month, spoke about Price’s impact on the district. The Independent Authority is the de facto school board of three elected members and four appointed by ISBE.
“You have no idea what a jewel that we’ve lost in District 187 and you are gaining,” King told District 204’s school board on Monday. “His community spirit, the way he loves the kids, the immediate responses that we have received for nine years.”
Indian Prairie’s student population is more than seven times that of North Chicago’s, with four times as many schools, Illinois State Board of Education figures show. Price said that will mean his job is “certainly going to be different for (his) day-to-day experience,” but pointed to his time overseeing a network of CPS schools as preparing him for the task of managing a large number of schools.
And, as he prepares to step into the new role, Price will also take on oversight of the district’s ongoing facilities overhaul. In an interview with The Beacon-News, he pointed to his own experience overseeing major construction projects, with North Chicago 187 building two new schools under his leadership.
Price’s contract with Indian Prairie extends from July 1, 2026, until June 30, 2029. For the 2026-27 school year, he will receive a salary of $335,000.
But, from now until July 1, Price will be preparing for the transition to his new role. He described the next six months as “go(ing) from one job to three” — continuing to lead District 187 through the end of the year, helping his replacement at North Chicago get acquainted with the job and transitioning into his new job at Indian Prairie.
He has a meet-and-greet at District 204 planned for Jan. 15, and said he’s already been able to meet with the district’s student advisory board in preparation for the transition.
“The students are just so interesting, so engaged, so exciting to be around,” Price said of the Indian Prairie District 204 students he’s met with thus far. “That’s what I’m most excited about, is to have a chance to work with the students in the school and get a chance to know the students better. I mean, they’re interested and involved in so many different things … The offerings that the school district has for the kids is unbelievable.”
mmorrow@chicagotribune.com
