Lake Bluff Elementary Has a New Principal

The Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to hire an experienced educator and principal as the new leader of

Shelley Overman, currently principal of Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Elementary School in central Illinois, will take over the helm on July 1.

“I’m very excited to be part of this district,” said Overman. She and her husband, Terry, have already been touring the Lake Bluff community eyeing possibly condos for their family.

“This is a very nice community,” said Overman.

The principal search process, which began in February, began with 70 candidates. Those candidates were whittled down through two rounds of interviews.

During the first part of the selection and interview process, administration and school board members examined the applicants. The pool was whittled to six candidates. Then, parents and staff helped bring that number to three candidates.

Superintendent John Asplund said in seeking a new principal, the district has been looking for “someone who is an active listener and team builder, someone whose first concern is always the children in his or her building, someone who can inspire greatness in others, (and) a team player who can stand behind what they believe yet is willing to accept the input of others.”

He introduced Overman to the board and community Tuesday night. “We’re just so very happy to have her on board,” said Asplund.

Board President Kim Burke echoed those sentiments in a prepared statement.

“It is with great excitement that the board welcomes (Overman) as our new principal at LBES,” said Burke. “Lake Bluff will benefit greatly from Shelley’s proven leadership as a principal. We look forward to welcoming her and her family to our community.”

Overman said she has already felt welcomed by Lake Bluff Elementary staff members, and referred to them as “an amazing group of people.”

Prior to serving as principal at Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Elementary School, Overman taught for 22 years in Arcola, Ill.

She is now pursuing her doctorate degree in curriculum and instruction from Illinois State University.