South Holland School District 151 board hires new teachers and ramps up building security

South Holland School District 151 is beginning the academic year with more teachers and paraprofessionals with an eye toward improving school safety measures.

Eight teachers, four paraprofessionals, one office manager, food service attendant, and long-term substitute teacher round out the hires. The district school board approved the hires on August 5, and they started the next day. 

SH SD152 has four schools: Madison Elementary School and Eisenhower Middle School in South Holland, Coolidge Middle School in Phoenix, and Taft Elementary School in Harvey.

Review the hires, transitions, and accepted resignations, broken down by school here:

The board also approved using its remaining federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to replace aluminum doors in the various school buildings. These pandemic funds must be expended by September 30. 

Orland Park-based Keepsake Construction, will undertake the work, totaling $353,190, the lowest cost of proposals received in July.

“We are replacing secure entry doors in some locations in the district to support and improve school safety and security,” Superintendent Theresa Hill said. “It is important that all of our doors be maintained in proper working order and have the ability to function appropriately with our locking and key fob systems as well as our other school safety and alarm systems.”

SH SD151 reported 17 unfilled full-time positions—12 teaching and five paraprofessional roles—to the Illinois State Board of Education, as of October 2023.

The hires “are an outstanding and diverse group” bringing a range of skills to the district, Hill added.

Coolidge principal Jerald McNair is excited that the district’s four schools have ramped up operational capacity. 

“Our students need to be in school, and our staff is ready,” McNair said. “We have a wonderful process that we prepare them. We have new teacher orientation the week before the kids come to school. So it’s a wonderful beginning.” 

The district employs an extensive hiring process.

According to Hill, when prospective employees show interest in a position within the district, they conduct their first interview with the principals. They then select the top two to three candidates for each position. 

The second interview is with the superintendent, Hill. She narrows candidates once again. After a round of reference checks, the candidates are offered employment. 

“We make a practice of only recommending individuals who meet our expectations,” Dr. Hill said. “Those expectations include individuals who show care for and dedication to children, a strong focus on building positive relationships with children, the ability to work with a team, the requisite skills and qualifications, and the desire to continuously grow as professionals.” 

The final order of business at Monday’s meeting was to approve the public display of the district’s tentative budget for the 2025 fiscal year. The 2025 fiscal budget hearing is set for September 9 at 6:45P.M.  The board’s next regularly scheduled meeting will immediately follow at 7:00P.M. Review the 2025 budget here:

With the school year now in full swing for South Holland, Hill expressed her excitement about welcoming the students back in an email to the HWH. She said the year is off to a great start so far, with their theme for this year being “The Sky’s the Limit.” 

“We want to continue with what we do well in this district, which is to grow our students and meet their academic needs,” McNair said. “There’s a lot going on in the world, and so schools are a safe place. But just being able to meet their needs in terms of social, emotional, and academic needs, and that’s where our excitement is.”