Shaking up the sciences: new science department chair

The former assistant principal at Middle School North will assume the role of Science Department Chair at the high school.

Mckenna Serowka, new science department chair, is currently an “administrator on special assignment.” According to Serowka, this means that her current position is temporary, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be.

“I could choose to stay here, provided that the high school and the school district wants me to stay here next year and beyond,” Serowka said. “I could also choose to go back to middle school and my role as the assistant principal.”

But to Serowka, she’s always had a passion for science, she said, so she believes that this role would allow her to expand her experiences at different levels of teaching and administration. 

“I was a science teacher before I was in administration. I taught high school science fresh out of college […] so it’s always been a passion and interest of mine,” Serowka said. “So when this opportunity presented itself, I knew immediately it was something I wanted to do.”

Since she has taken on the role of Science Department Chair, she no longer holds the position of assistant principal at Middle School North. Although that change in jobs takes place in the same district, there was definitely a curve that she needed to get used to, Serowka said.

“As an assistant principal at a middle school, I wear a lot of hats. So how I compare that to at the middle school, I am the dean, I am the assistant principal, I am the athletic director,” Serowka said. “So at the high school, we have a lot more people supporting those various needs. So that was one of the changes and challenges coming to this role is understanding what my responsibilities are versus what somebody else’s responsibilities are.”

No matter how many responsibilities she has, Serowka makes sure she does them to the best of her ability due to her love for the community. According to Serowka, she hopes that in her position of Science Department Chair, she will be able to impact the District 95 in a positive manner. 

“I was a student in District 95, many many years ago,” Serowka said, “so I went here kindergarten through 12th grade, through many of our buildings, and I’m excited to continue to give back to the community and the school district that helped me on my own learning journey to get where I am today.”