A Western Illinois University graduate is coming back to Macomb to lead the new middle school.
“She was selected because she’s an outstanding candidate,” Superintendent Patrick Twomey said about Kibbee Lewis, adding that her experience came through during the interview process.
“She could talk the talk. She’s done the work. There were no questions we threw at her that could surprise her.”
Lewis comes to Macomb from the Indian Prairie School District in Aurora, where she was an assistant principal at Granger Middle School. Before that, she was assistant principal at the district’s Crone Middle School.
Twomey thinks Lewis will prove to be an excellent leader, and she will be a trailblazer in Macomb in a couple ways.
Twomey said he believes Lewis will be the first Black administrator in the school district’s history.
Plus, she will be taking over a middle school that opened less than a year ago, so she will be in a position to create a vision for it.
“I think that because of her vast experience at the middle school level – at the administration level within a middle school – I think she will take our middle school to a new level,” Twomey said.
“And that will be exciting for not just her as the leader, but for all the teachers and students who will be in that building.”
Lewis replaces Brock Bainter, who left Macomb to become athletic director in the Rockridge School District in Taylor Ridge
Twomey said Lewis was born and raised in a small town in southern Georgia before her family moved to a bigger city.
She eventually came to WIU to earn her degree.
“She’s familiar with Macomb. She liked Macomb as a student here. And when she saw our posting, she said I was ready in my life to get back to small town America,” Twomey said.
Lewis’ starting salary is $110,000.
Twomey said the school district’s administration team will meet for a couple days in mid-June to plan for next school year, and Lewis intends to participate even though her official start date is in July.
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