Homewood-Flossmoor High School prides itself on the numerous programs it offers students who want hands-on learning experiences, but it is having trouble filling positions and it lost its fourth trades education program director in four years.
The District 233 school board accepted the resignation of Michelle Meadows, director of Career Pathways and Workforce Development, at the March 18 board meeting. She will remain in the position through June 30.
Kevin Thomas had been director of the Applied Academics Department from 2008 through 2022 when he resigned. A long-time H-F employee, he returned to the faculty. The department was renamed Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Ben May, an automotive teacher, served as chair for one year before returning to the faculty.
In 2023, the board hired Hope Stovall as director of Career Pathways and Workforce Development, the third title for the department. Stovall’s resignation was effective June 30, 2024.
Michelle Meadows started as director of Career Pathways and Workforce Development July 1. At the time, H-F recognized her wealth of experience in career training in both Illinois and Indiana. Her last position before coming to H-F was executive director of a consortium for education for employment of which H-F was a member with Rich Township High School District 227, Bloom Township High School District 206, and Crete-Monee High School District 201-U.
In addition to managing the curriculum of career training classes, Meadows was helping H-F establish dual-credit programs that would give H-F students the opportunity to earn college credit or program certificates for work done at H-F.
In a prepared statement, Gerald Pauling, president of the board, said, “We’ve gone through some ‘growing pains’ trying to find the right fit for our CTE program leadership — both for us and for the person leading the charge.
“Part of the challenge is that the role has evolved quite a bit since our initiative began. It’s no longer simply a building-level department chair who also teaches a class. Rather, the person leading CTE now needs to wear more hats to serve the district-level needs as well as the department-level needs. Fulfilling both of those responsibilities is demanding and time-consuming, more so than folks initially appreciate,” Pauling said.
He describes the director as someone who needs “a whole different set of skills — things like building relationships with community partners, running business advisory groups, creating work-based learning opportunities for students, and managing the day-to-day operations of the CTE department. “
Pauling acknowledges: “It’s a big job that requires very specific expertise, and because the candidate pool is small and in high demand, folks we have identified for leadership ultimately have moved on to roles that better align with their personal and professional goals.
“We know we aren’t the only school experiencing these challenges — schools across the country also are ‘leveling up’ their CTE programs to meet the new demands of the workforce,” he said.
“H-F is fully committed to bringing more stability and longer-term leadership to this important program. The job was posted (the week of March 17) and we’re confident we’ll find the right leader who can support our amazing students and staff in this ever-growing field of Career Technical Education,” Pauling said.
The department also has several faculty positions open.
Ben May, the automotive teacher, left H-F in June 2024. He was a well-liked and well-respected teacher who taught students everything about cars and then helped them develop skills for the work world through the H-F Auto Club, an extracurricular activity. Students also got to rebuild a 1997 Mustang through the Auto Club and race it at Byron Dragway near Rockford until summer 2023 when H-F said its insurance on the car was no longer available.
Also listed on the H-F website are openings for a teacher for auto and welding, and a teacher for automotive and/or small engines.
Tim Kilrea, interim human resources director at H-F, told the board’s Planning Committee in February that the district was having difficulty finding an automotive teacher.