Niles West High School will have a new principal as of next month: Jeremy Christian, who is coming to the high school from his position as principal of Julian Middle School at Oak Park School District 97. Niles West serves students from Skokie, Morton Grove, Lincolnwood and Niles.
The Niles Township High School District 219 Board of Education approved Christian as the next Niles West principal at their May 23 meeting, per a district press release.
He replaces Karen Ritter, who will start as the assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction at Antioch Community High School District 117 July 1, according to information from District 117. Ritter has been the principal at Niles West since 2019, according to previous reporting.
Christian holds a master’s degree in secondary education from Concordia University Chicago, and a master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from Benedictine University, according to District 219, and is working on his Ph.D from Illinois State University.
Christian also served as assistant principal in Naperville Community School District 203, according to a District 219 statement, and was Dean of Students at Proviso East High School in Maywood and a teacher and team leader at Bolingbrook High School.
District 219 has seen activism around whether Black students and other minority groups are welcome in district schools. The district’s statements on Christian’s hiring emphasized two programs he had spearheaded in previous roles to promote inclusion for Black students in Naperville and Oak Park.
Christian will start his time with Niles West July 1, district spokesperson April Stallworth said.
