ROGERS PARK — New Field Elementary School in Rogers Park has a new principal with a familiar face: former Assistant Principal Conrey Callahan.
When then-Principal Carlos Patiño announced he was taking another job in the suburbs earlier this year, he said he would shout his support for Callahan to take over as principal "from any mountaintop."
Callahan served as assistant principal to Patiño since starting at the school in 2014.
In July, Callahan was selected out of 19 candidates by the school's Local School Council to take over the campus at 1707 W. Morse Ave. — a role she said she really wanted.
"I wanted to be the principal, specifically of New Field, because the community has stolen my heart," Callahan said. "I have loved watching our kids grow up, becoming independent people with their own unique interests and fascinations, hopes and dreams."
"There is just no other place I would rather be."
Callahan said she feels "an immense connection" to the progress being made at the neighborhood school and its overall vision of the future, but that when Patiño left, "our work as administrators was unfinished."
Now, with New Field's staff under her wing, Callahan said she's ready to continue that work with a team she described as "courageous" and "the finest educators I have ever worked with."
"They are willing to try something new to improve outcomes for kids — and that is a tough thing, doing something new, taking a risk," she said. "It is a unique to find adults ready to take on a new challenge, be vulnerable."
Callahan's "foremost" goal for the school is to attain Chicago Public Schools' highest quality rating. The school currently has the second-highest rating.
To achieve that, she said her focus will be on finding new strategies to engage her staff and the community and improve school culture by allowing for more staff voices in decision-making processes.
She also plans to partner with organizations within the community and beyond, she said, such as Loyola University.
Callahan has spearheaded the school's budget amid cuts in recent years, and, as a Spanish-speaker, has helped coordinate bilingual programming and committees at the school.
Since being named principal Callahan said she is "incredibly humbled by the support and encouragement" she's received, and that she would be relying on that enthusiasm for the school going forward.
"The adage, 'It takes a village' rings true — I know I cannot do this job without the input, guidance and expertise of my staff, community members and students," she said.
In the meantime, Callahan said she was eager to return to work.
"I have a countdown calendar on my desk at home for when staff and students come back," she said. "In the summer I really miss the energy and vibrancy that our teachers and students bring."
