Constance Rupert Collins, a retired superintendent at Round Lake Community Unit School District 116, will become the interim replacement for North Chicago School District 187’s outgoing Superintendent John Price.
A longtime educator with experience as a superintendent in Zion and Oak Park, as well as Round Lake, Collins was also an area superintendent and principal in the Grand Rapids, Michigan, area. She will begin leading District 187 on July 1, but has already started getting to know North Chicago.
“I’ve had conversations with Dr. Price, and I will have more,” Collins said. “I will have conversations with the members of the cabinet, and with the cabinet as a whole,” she added, referring to the key administrators in the district.
The District 187 Independent Authority, the de facto board of education for the district, appointed Collins as interim superintendent on Tuesday to serve until a permanent superintendent is hired.
Price, who will become superintendent of Indian Prairie School District 204 in Aurora on July 1, said Wednesday he is familiar with Collins’ work and believes District 187 will be well-served during her temporary tenure.
“Dr. Collins is one of the most respected educators in Illinois and around Lake County,” Price said. “She will be a great asset when she joins our district as superintendent.”
Agreeing to serve until June 30, 2027, Collins said she will lead the North Chicago schools until then, or when a permanent superintendent is hired by the Independent Authority. She said she plans to build on the success achieved during Price’s tenure.
“It’s important to maintain the successes the district has had,” Collins said. “I will look at the systems in place, familiarize myself with everything going on, and all opportunities to excel.”
Besides meeting with cabinet members, Collins said she will familiarize herself with teachers and staff as well as community members. She is aware of the special relationship with Naval Station Great Lakes and philanthropic groups in the area, which help the district’s youth.
“I believe in collaboration and cooperation,” she said. “I want to identify what we can lift up, and identify where there are opportunities to take the next steps,” she added, emphasizing that the highest priority is students. “They are not only our future but our present. One day they will take care of us.”
Growing up in Gary, Indiana, Collins earned her undergraduate degree in education from Indiana University, as well as a master’s degree in education from the same school. She earned a Ph.D. from Penn State University in communication disorders with a focus on stuttering.
As an educator, Collins said she worked initially as a speech pathologist in a variety of places around the country before eventually becoming an administrator in the Grand Rapids area, and eventually Lake County.
First taking the helm as superintendent at Zion Elementary School District 6 between 2002 and 2005, Collins then became superintendent in Oak Park Elementary School District 97 before going to Round Lake. She was also the interim superintendent for four months in 2021 for both Lake Forest Elementary School District 67 and Lake Forest High School District 115.
The public will have the opportunity to meet Collins between 3 and 6:30 p.m. on June 11 at
Forrestal Elementary School.
The Independent Authority was created in 2012 after the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) took control of the district because of its poor financial condition and academic performance.
After the takeover, the ISBE removed the elected District 187 Board of Education and appointed the seven-person Independent Authority to act as the de facto board. After Price became superintendent in 2017, the graduation rate for North Chicago Community High School rose from 50% to 85.9%.
By 2024, ISBE voted to return the district to an elected board with three members chosen by the voters in 2025 and four more in 2027, when it will be a fully elected panel.
