District 65 has tapped two veteran curriculum and instruction administrators from other Cook County districts for principal jobs in Evanston.
Nicole Fishman, most recently the director of curriculum and assessment for Hillside District 93 in western Cook County, will take the reins at Nichols Middle School starting this summer. Alison Schoeffmann, the assistant superintendent of instruction at River Forest District 90 since 2016, will be the next principal at Orrington Elementary School.
At Nichols, Fishman is replacing Principal Marcus Wright, and the district is still searching for a replacement for Assistant Principal Andre Ball, “with the goal of naming a new leader prior to the start of the school year,” according to a letter that Superintendent Angel Turner sent to families on Monday.
Over the summer, Fishman will work on plans for the upcoming school year alongside the remaining assistant principal, Erica Brunson.
Meanwhile, Schoeffmann is taking over for Josh Seldess, who served as Orrington’s interim principal this past year. Assistant Principal Sarah Yoo is sticking around, though.
In her letters announcing the two appointments, Turner told both school communities to “stay tuned for a welcome message and details for a ‘meet and greet’ opportunity.”
‘It was important … to proactively address criticism’
Writing to Orrington families, Turner also directly acknowledged online criticism that Schoeffmann received during her time as the director of curriculum, instruction and assessment at Winnetka District 36. Schoeffmann left Winnetka for River Forest in 2016.
“Similarly to me, Dr. Schoeffmann values transparency,” Turner wrote. “It was important to both of us to proactively address criticism she faced in her previous roles from very small but vocal groups who opposed her beliefs in expanding access to rigorous learning opportunities and keeping a wide variety of books in libraries.”
“A non-mainstream news article and several blogs stated Dr. Schoeffmann was fired or asked to resign. Our team had conversations with those who served in leadership positions during her tenure and they confirmed the reports are absolutely false nor was there any factual basis to the claims referenced. These individuals referenced her high levels of integrity, deep instructional knowledge, and unwavering ability to center students’ needs.”
Turner is most directly referring to a blog post written on a Winnetka parent forum by former Winnetka Caucus Schools Chair Katie Scullion in 2015, in which Scullion alleged that Schoeffmann, who went by Alison Hawley at the time, was forced out by the District 36 superintendent for “concealing student performance data from the Board and the community.”
That blog post was picked up by West Cook News, an arm of conservative radio host Dan Proft’s Local Government Information Services company. Back in 2022, LGIS began printing and distributing “newspapers” under names like North Cook News and West Cook News. Those papers have primarily targeted LGBTQ-related curriculum in schools, state taxes and the Illinois SAFE-T Act to eliminate cash bail, among other things.
In late November 2023, the Wednesday Journal of Oak Park and River Forest – a respected longtime community newspaper in the western suburbs of Chicago – reported that Schoeffmann would leave River Forest after the 2023-24 school year .
“She led systemic alignment of our foundational curriculum and instruction across grade levels and subjects, including math, writing, reading, science, and social-emotional learning,” District 90 Superintendent Edward Condon said at the time, according to the Wednesday Journal. “Our educators and our students have benefited from the high-quality professional learning partners she brought to the district, elevating and enriching the learning experience for all.”
Turner also added that Schoeffmann came “highly regarded by the school-based interview panel.”
Schoeffmann is an Evanston native, having attended Willard, King Arts and Evanston Township High schools. While a school administrator in Winnetka and River Forest, she also worked with the ETHS Foundation, Evanston Scholars, the TED Fund and the community committee that supported the 2017 referendum to provide more funding to District 65, according to Turner.
“Prioritizing equity and making student-centered decisions sometimes comes with critics;” Turner wrote, “with that in mind, I ask that you reserve judgment and join us in warmly welcoming her home to the District 65 family.”
District 65 appoints new principals for Nichols and Orrington is from Evanston RoundTable, Evanston's most trusted source for unbiased, in-depth journalism.