• District 214 names Kara Kendrick Associate Superintendent for Student Services, Buffalo Grove High School names Jack O'Neal as Associate Principal for Student Services.

     

    Kara Kendrick brings a wealth of relevant experience to her new role, having served as Associate Principal for Student Services for Prospect High School since 2018 and having previously worked as Dean of Students at Maine South and Naperville North high schools. She came to District 214 in 2013, working for five years as Director of The Academy of Forest View and life - 214’s Transition Program.

    Throughout her time in District 214, Kendrick’s work has been marked by a student-centered approach with a focus on inclusivity for all - priorities she will bring to her Cabinet role as well. 

    Kendrick was instrumental in Prospect earning the National Blue Ribbon School Award in 2023, and she received the District’s Dr. Elizabeth A. Ennis Innovator Award for the 2015-16 school year. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and Special Education and a Master’s in Educational Administration, both from Illinois State University. She began her career as a special education teacher in Normal, Illinois.

  • Jack O’Neal comes to Buffalo Grove from his current role as Associate Principal in the Specialized Schools, overseeing The Academy at Forest View and life transition program.

    Previously, Jack served as the Principal at Miner School in the Northwest Suburban Special Education Organization (NSSEO), a role in which he had been responsible, among other duties, for designing instructional practices and professional development plans. In this work, he recruited, hired, and evaluated staff and focused on data-based decisions to meet academic and behavioral student needs. Before becoming Principal, Jack served first as a teacher at Miner and then as an Instructional/Transition Coordinator.  He previously served a similar role at Kirk School in Palatine. He has also served as a member of the NSSEO Leadership Team.

    Jack earned a Bachelor’s degree in the Learning and Behavior Specialist program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He earned a Master’s degree in Special Education from Northeastern Illinois University and a Master’s in Educational Administration from Northern Illinois University.