District 233 Superintendent Jennifer Norrell may be in her position for only 100 days, but she said the school board gave her a head start in planning for her administration at Homewood-Flossmoor High School by appointing her to the top position in November 2024.

Before she officially became superintendent July 1, she used those months to study data and meet with staff. 

It helped her understand how to carry out the goals of the district’s strategic plan and to set a course so that by 2028 H-F will be able to meet Illinois State Board of Education requirements that students have not only academic but also hands-on learning through internships and projects in their chosen fields.

Norrell offered her perspective on H-F today and laid out a direction for the future. She told the board and a crowded audience Dec. 16 that students can be expected to take on greater academic challenges when the curriculum is realigned. 

Norrell outlined six areas that will be her and her team’s focus for the 2026-27 school year:

• Instruction core/leadership.
• Culture and environment.
• Finance and operations.
• Parent engagement.
• Communications and community engagement.
• Resources.

The board and administration must create a school improvement and 
district improvement plans, she said.

H-F is known for its athletics, 85 activities and co-curricular programs. Guests remark that H-F is like a college campus with outstanding facilities. Norrell doesn’t intend to diminish any of those positives.

She now wants to work on student achievement. 

She gave examples of how few students enroll in Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate classes. 

With curriculum changes Norrell believes she can get more students enrolled in those classes. That is important because colleges look positively on students who accept the challenges of AP and IB. It also can be a way for students to earn college credit.

For students not geared toward college, earning an endorsement in a field will put them ahead of others in the workplace.

A full schedule is limiting students on getting the extra help they need and reduces their chance to participate in extracurriculars. 

She proposes a change in the schedule to alleviate those problems.

Teachers have gone through special training this school year.

“Our staff is our most valuable resource, hands down,” she said. “There’s no doubt that an investment in our staff is an investment in our students and our future.

“We are now using those key findings and data on how we move forward. Much of the things we’re talking about doing next year is making sure we graduate out well-rounded Vikings. And when they launch from our nest at Homewood-Flossmoor High School they are able to contend with any role they choose to go in and they’re about to hold their own.”