Morris Elementary District 54 School Superintendent Shannon Dudek had his last board meeting last night. Dudek announced earlier this year he would be taking the Wooddale School District Superintendent position in DuPage County.
Former District 54 School Board President Jerry White, who had a part in hiring Dudek in 2016, had this to say during the public comment section of the meeting.
“No one wanted to work with us. We needed that person that was going to come into our community, that was going to be in our community with us and Shannon did that. He lived here. He didn’t wasn’t just a body that came in and out. He was part of the community. He made our brand better. One of my goals was I really wanted other teachers to want to come here because it was a place to be. And we accomplished that amongst many other things. We had a lot of situations you know from finance to just you name it. And so it took the right person and we went through that search. I know we found the right person with Shannon.”
Dudek shared his thoughts about working with the teachers at District 54.
“Would be remiss to say it didn’t happen without teaching staff. And even though we have our ups and their downs, I’m really proud of you, and I’m really proud of our work that the staff does. If it goes, it’s thankless a lot of ways. A lot of times, you know, our administration and me ultimately, I want to be the lighting rod to deflect, you know, the damage that gets kind of thrown at people. I’m okay with that. And it’s been really good here. But I could tell you one of the first people I met in district was Denise, and it was a tragic, you know, reason that we met. I try not to bring it up often, but I feel like due because it was so impactful in my life. So for me, that was the first exposure to district fifty four and the idea that, you know, doctor Dukes is not a, you know, kind of a what’s the term? Like a shallow suit. You know what I mean? It was like I was there, you know, and I always feel like I want to be there. And so sometimes it’s hard to be an administrator, but yet want to be close to everyone and be there for everyone. Just like Amanda said, you know, I want to be that figure that can kind of help and just be there if it needs to be. And when it’s time to grab a hug or a handshake, I’m there for that too. So, I mean, District fifty four is incredibly impactful in my life.”
Dudek said it was time to move on.
“I came here, Wendy and I were dating. But then the year we get married and then we’ve been incredible, three kids, and they’ve all loved their experience in Morris. And it’s going to be challenging and tough and different, but I also think we know as adults when it’s time, you know, whenever you get a couple phone calls and finally it’s like, you know, maybe it’s time, you know, it’s time for someone else because you just can’t do it forever. And nine years is a long time for superintendents, you know. So for me, without being asked to leave, you know. So at the end of the day, I’m really proud of the work we’ve done here, incredible people. And I think at the end of the day, people that we have that were here when I when I came here just needed to be kind of the freedom and the opportunity to take a risk without being without with the safety of knowing it’s okay. And that’s one thing that we’ve really been proud of because we’ve allowed people really to just go. So I know Marie’s going to do a great job. She’s been training for this probably after the first year. She told me she wanted to do this one day, and I said, well, we need to start. You need to know what it’s like. And so she started. And I think that she’s as prepared as she can be, you know, stepping into this position.”
During the meeting, board members thanked Dudek for his years of service. Dudek has been the Superintendent at District 54 since 2016. His last day on the job will be Thursday and then Assistant Superintendent Marie Stover will take over the position. Stover was hired by the board in early April.
