Lemont High School Selects Next Superintendent

Mary Ticknor, an associate superintendent in the Burr Ridge-based Community Consolidated School District 181, will serve as the next superintendent of , Lemont officials announced Monday.

Ticknor will replace outgoing District 210 Superintendent Sandra Doebert, June 30, 2012, after leading the district for the past decade. The announcement ends a five-month search for Doebert’s successor.

The District 210 Board of Education has offered Tickner a three-year contract, which will be formally approved during its Jan. 9, 2012 business meeting. Ticknor will assume her post July 1, 2012.

The details of her contract were not immediately available.

"The Board of Education was fortunate to be presented with a strong pool of candidates, many of whom were highly qualified to fill the role of our next superintendent," District 210 Board President Beverly Marzec said. "Mary's experiences in education made her a strong candidate for the position, but after getting to know her through the interview process, it became quite evident to the Board that she would be the right person to lead our district."

Ticknor has served District 181 since 2004, when she took over as principal for Hinsdale Middle School. During her tenure, she was cited for “Outstanding Leadership in Social and Emotional Learning” by the University of Illinois-Chicago’s Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (2005). She also earned the District 181 Ambassador of Excellence Award in 2006.

In 2007, Ticknor became District 181’s assistant superintendent for human resources. She has served as an associate superintendent since 2008—first as associate superintendent/chief of operations (2008-2010) and currently as associate superintendent for human resources.

Over the past four years, she has been charged with oversight and management of the district, which comprises seven elementary schools and two middle schools and serves 4,000 students across Burr Ridge, Clarendon Hills, Hinsdale, Oak Brook and Willowbrook. Ticknor's responsibilities have included curriculum and technology, human resources, finance, pupil personnel services, buildings and grounds, and accountability and communications.

Prior to her time in District 181, Ticknor worked in education for 20 years in South Dakota. She served in both public and private school settings, and within elementary, secondary and post-secondary education.

She holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of South Dakota (1983), as well as a master's degree in education from South Dakota State University (1990). She earned a Specialist of Education from the University of South Dakota in 2009, and is on track to receive a Doctorate of Education this spring.

Ticknor and her husband, Duane, reside in Lisle, and have one adult son, David. Duane currently serves as an assistant coach for the Changwon LG Sakers of the Korean Basketball League. He has served as a head coach in the NBA's Developmental League, the Continental Basketball Association and the International Basketball Association.

The Jan. 9 meeting of the District 210 Board of Education will be held at 7 p.m. at Lemont High School, 800 Porter St.