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Leyden District 212 selects new superintendent
Nick Polyak, Ed.D. Polyak will take over as District 212 superintendent on July 1, 2013.
Updated: December 30, 2012 6:31AM
FRANKLIN PARK
After almost a year’s effort, the Leyden District 212 School Board has chosen a new superintendent.
Nick Polyak will take over for Kathryn Robbins on July 1, 2013.
Polyak is the superintendent of Illinois Valley Central School District 321, a kindergarten through 12th grade district with about 2,200 students near Peoria.
Before that, Polyak spent 10 years in Lincoln-Way High School District 210, working as a math teacher, coach of the boys’ soccer and tennis teams, dean, assistant principal, and instruction and staff development director.
Polyak grew up in Joliet and attended Joliet Catholic High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree in math and secondary education from Augustana College, and a master’s degree in educational administration from Governor’s State University. He earned a doctoral degree in educational leadership and supervision from Loyola University.
The board hired the Illinois Association of School Boards to run its search for a new superintendent. IASB assembled an online survey open to staff and the public, asking what people wanted in a superintendent.
Twenty-five candidates from around the country applied, Board President Gregory Ignoffo said.
The IASB narrowed the list down to six. The board interviewed the six and narrowed it down to two. On Nov. 8, it chose Polyak.
“We wanted them to have taught,” Ignoffo said. “We wanted them to have a doctorate. And a good financial background.”
