CUSD 201 School Board appoints Jack Baldermann as next Superintendent of Schools

JB Picture

Community Press Release
December 14, 2022

The CUSD 201 School Board is pleased to announce Mr. Jack Baldermann as the district’s new superintendent, effective July 1, 2023. After a search process involving input from hundreds of members of our school district staff and the Westmont community, and a nationwide search, we are very excited to welcome Mr. Jack Baldermann. 

“From the onset of the search, we as a School Board were hopeful that the community would be a big part of the selection process. The surveys and focus groups that so many community members and district staff participated in helped to guide us as a Board as we selected candidates to interview from the nearly 50 candidates who expressed interest in the vacancy”, said School Board President Adina Hoover. “The overall process was very rewarding and we are thankful that our community and staff were so involved and insisted on the best for our students.” 

Baldermann is an 11-year veteran of CUSD 201 and currently serves as the principal of Westmont High School. In this role, he oversees the development and implementation of a well-rounded yet rigorous curriculum that has been acknowledged multiple times on a national level. Westmont High School’s recognition as a Blue Ribbon School symbolizes excellence in overall student achievement and serves as a pinnacle of success for a collaborative Pre-K to 12th grade unit school district. Additionally, WHS has won the DuFour Award as the Best Professional Learning Community in the United States and has been named an Exemplary school every year by the Illinois State Board of Education. Most recently, WHS earned the highest scores for any Illinois high school on the University of Chicago's 5 Essentials Survey.

During this tenure as WHS Principal, Jack was recognized as Illinois Principal of the Year in 2017 and was the first educational leader from Illinois to be a finalist for National Principal of the Year. In 2022, he won the Golden Apple Award for Excellence in Educational Leadership. Jack is the only educational leader in the state to win the Golden Apple Award and be selected as the Illinois Principal of the Year.

Before his time as Westmont High School’s Principal, Mr. Baldermann served as a district leader in principal and superintendent roles in various school districts across the midwest. These leadership opportunities molded Jack into the student-centered, results-focused administrator he is today. His charismatic, passionate leadership style enables staff and students alike to be the best versions of themself that they can be. “The comradery he develops with those around him is what set him apart from the other very qualified candidates who applied for the superintendent role in our district”, said Hoover.

Baldermann holds a Bachelor of Arts in both Political Science and English from the University of St. Francis, as well as a Master of Science in English from Loyola University and another Master of Science in Educational Administration from St. Xavier University. Currently, Jack is completing a doctoral program at the University of Illinois to earn a doctorate in Educational Leadership.

"The students and people of CUSD 201 are sacred to me, and I am most proud and grateful to serve as superintendent of our district. We will need all of us to pull together as we become one of the premier school districts in Illinois and the nation", Baldermann stated. “We are excited for Jack to take on a larger role as part of the team that will look to build on the solid foundation that has been established under the leadership of Mr. Kevin Carey”, said Hoover.

Baldermann will be charged with leading a unit school district that continues to be recognized for its diversity and academic excellence. Baldermann remarked that he is proud to continue the district’s mission of fostering equity and opportunity for all students.