Schools

VVSD: DeDonato's Experience An Asset to District, Martinez Middle School

Sarah DeDonato is the new principal of the Valley View middle school.

Editor's Note: The following is a press release from Valley View School District.

Sarah DeDonato loves the “commonality” of Valley View Community Unit School District 365U.

“I like that the district shares a common vision from the elementary schools to the high schools,” said the new principal at , who comes to VVSD with experience in two very large, but separate, school districts in Cicero.

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With Valley View placing a heavy emphasis on professional learning communities to help its teachers share successes with each other, DeDonato will be a valuable asset to the district because she was in on the ground floor of development of similar communities at Morton East High School.

“I’ve already seen the development from the beginning. I can help in the transition here,” she said. “It starts with collaboration and cooperation between staff with the goal of improving student achievement. It’s quite a nice change.”

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A graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary education, her first school job was as a seventh- and eighth-grade language arts teacher at the 3,600-student Unity Junior High in Cicero. After obtaining her master’s in school leadership from Concordia University, she moved to Morton East first as a dean and eventually as assistant principal for student support services before becoming assistant principal for instruction.

“Before I became an assistant principal, I thought I wanted to stick with the behavioral side because it came naturally to me,” DeDonato recalled. “But when I went into the curriculum and instruction position, I realized that classroom instruction is where it all begins and ends. I found myself remembering what I really enjoyed about teaching … being creative and finding the best possible solutions to improve student learning.”

DeDonato firmly believes all students are individuals with individual styles and ways of learning material.

“Every student has needs and wants,” she said. “We’ll be playing on their strengths and supporting the areas in which they need help. Our goal is that all students will master the concepts.”


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