With current Brooks Elementary School Principal Terri Russell set to retire at the end of the school year, the Indian Prairie School District Board has chosen Carol Betzold as the new principal for the school in Aurora.
Indian Prairie School Board members voted unanimously to hire Betzold for the role at a meeting on April 8. According to Indian Prairie Superintendent Adrian Talley, she is currently the principal at Crystal Lawns Elementary School in Plainfield School District 202, a role she has been in since 2018.
“I am excited for this opportunity and look forward to making a positive impact on the lives of the students, staff and community at Brooks Elementary,” Betzold said in an email on Wednesday.
Before her current position at Crystal Lawns Elementary, Betzold was an assistant principal at Charles Reed Elementary School in Plainfield for three years, according to information provided by Indian Prairie School District 204.
Earlier in her career, she was a fifth-grade teacher at Freedom Elementary School in Plainfield for eight years and a third- grade teacher for five years at Lewis Elementary School in Solon, Ohio.
Betzold has a bachelor’s degree in human ecology from Ohio State University and a master’s degree in education from John Carroll University.
She will start as principal of Brooks Elementary School on July 1, according to the district.
“I have a commitment to fostering a positive school culture, and will continue to uphold the highest standards that are in place at Brooks,” Betzold said. “My goal is to continue to ensure an inclusive environment where every child can thrive academically, socially and emotionally.”
rsmith@chicagotribune.com
