A Role Model Who Lifts Others

Profile

SUPERINTENDENTS CITE various reasons for taking on the top job in a school district. Some realized when they were young who makes the important decisions about school. Many others came to pursue the role when a mentor recognized their leadership potential and encouraged them to consider the superintendency.

Courtney Orzel, superintendent of Lemont-Bromberek School District 113A in suburban Chicago, wants to be that mentor. She’s the one most inclined to say to a promising educator on the rise, “I think you should do that,” to bolster the confidence to aim high even if the superintendency hadn’t been on their career radar.

Orzel credits her own mentor, Margaret Longo, for inspiring her to unbridle her career ambitions. Upon Longo’s retirement in 2013, Orzel landed her first superintendent appointment in Forest Ridge, Ill.

Since then, the Illinois Association of School Administrators tapped Orzel to facilitate the launch of a Women in Leadership initiative. It’s intended to address the unique challenges and opportunities facing women.

“When IASA launched Women in Leadership, Dr. Orzel was the first person I thought of,” says Brent Clark, executive director of the Illinois Association of School Administrators. “Our female superintendents feel more supported, more empowered and are closer to each other. Dr. Orzel deserves a lot of credit for facilitating that.”

Now in year two, the IASA Super Women initiative has evolved into a vibrant community of engaged leaders both in person and online.

Orzel hosts the bimonthly #IASASuperWomen chat on Twitter to help expand professional networks and connect, inspire and grow more women into the superintendency.

“We’re encouraging women to support other women,” Orzel says. “I’ve given my cellphone number out to hundreds of women, and my message is always, ‘I don’t need to know you personally to be able to help you.’”

As she reaches the middle of her sixth year atop the 2,300-student Lemont-Bromberek district, Orzel has garnered national attention for her work. Earlier this year, she was a finalist for AASA’s Women in School Leadership Award, which recognizes female superintendents whose communication skills, professionalism and community involvement are exemplary.

Ten years ago, she notes, that a massive financial crisis ravaged the schools, leaving the community and staff in turmoil. Five years later, when Orzel took the helm, she jump started the district and community on its road to recovery, paving an unconventional yet memorable path.

“We took a closed-down school and converted it into a 30,000 square-foot haunted house for our community,” she says. Haunted Central, as it was dubbed, ran over the course of four frighteningly successful years, generating nearly $100,000 for the community. Haunted Central brought staff, the school board, faculty, parents, students and local organizations together through service and left them with hope.

“I’m proud that we had a district that was that creative and supportive and something like that could bring a community together,” Orzel says. “It sounds crazy, but it was awesome — and legit scary.”

She adds: “I sit there and think we must be the only school district in the country that converted a vacant school into a haunted house and had this much success. That to me has been one of the proudest moments of my career, to be a part of something like that.”