At its March 12 meeting, the District 91 Board of Education unanimously approved the hiring of Joe Pisano as principal of Forest Park Middle School for the 2015-16 school year. Accompanied by his wife, Pisano thanked the board for their confidence, then talked about his excitement regarding the new position.
His promotion marks the latest of many roles he has filled in the district. He was a popular eighth-grade social studies teacher, according to several of the board members, who remarked that their own children continue to speak favorably about their time in his classroom.
In 2013, after five years of teaching, Pisano transitioned to assistant principal of Forest Park Middle School. He will assume his new role this summer.
Reached by phone, Pisano told the Review he believes his experiences as a teacher are invaluable in helping to inform his decisions as an administrator. He appreciates the perspective afforded by his five years in the classroom and is “very excited to tackle the new responsibilities” as principal.
Pisano succeeds Karen Bukowski as principal and said he hopes to “continue the successes we have started here,” including work on the Common Core Curriculum, the “One on One” initiative and implementation of new technologies, including Google Chromebooks.
Bukowski is relocating to the Northeast this summer.
A native of Franklin Park, he received his undergraduate degree from Dominican University and completed his student teaching requirements at Forest Park Middle School.
Aside from the promotion, this summer brings more changes for Pisano and his wife. The couple is expecting their first child in June.
D91’s new principal
From the official District 91 statement on the hiring of Joe Pisano as the new Forest Park Middle School principal:
Mr. Pisano’s affiliation with FPMS began nine years ago when he student taught in the seventh grade social studies classroom with Daniel Staser. Upon completing his student teaching at FPMS in the late fall of 2006, Mr. Pisano was hired as a temporary teacher to cover a leave of absence for a self-contained special education classroom at FPMS from January-June 2007.
In the following school year (2007-2008), he taught sixth grade social studies at Coolidge Middle School in South Holland School District 151. He was also the sixth and seventh grade head basketball coach at Coolidge.
Mr. Pisano was hired as the eighth grade social studies teacher at FPMS starting in the 2008-2009 school year. He continued his teaching service in that role until December 2012 when he was hired as the assistant principal at FPMS — first in an interim role for approximately three months and then permanently from March 2013 to present. In his years teaching eighth grade social studies, he organized mock elections and Veterans Day assemblies, served as a member of the PBIS Tier 1 team and internal coach, was the sponsor of student council, and coordinated the annual FPMS Leadership Camp.
As assistant principal at FPMS for the last 2 1/2 years, he was responsible for coordinating ISAT testing for all of District 91, and the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) test at FPMS; he administered the student survey component of the 5 Essentials Survey, facilitated PBIS meetings, and coordinated the district’s summer school program.
Mr. Pisano’s breadth of experience will be a great asset to FPMS, as will his leadership skills which will continue to support the implementation of new teaching practices aligned with the Common Core State Standards.
