The Proviso D209 Board of Education approved to appoint two interim superintendents to replace Bessie Karvelas, who is on approved temporary leave.
Alexander Aschoff, who was serving as the district coordinator for data and assessment, and Luke Pavone, who was serving as deputy superintendent of operations, were appointed as co-acting interim superintendents during the absence of Bessie Karvelas.
The motion passed during a special board meeting held Wednesday night at PMSA.
Board member Sandra Hixson abstained from the vote.
Board members David Ocampo, Samuel Valtierrez, and Rodney Alexander voted in favor, as did Amanda Grant, the board’s board president.
Board members Jenny Barbahen and Arbdella Patterson were not in attendance.
Aschoff, who has been with the district since 2004, said he is devoted to the Proviso community.
“I am honored,” Aschoff said. “Proviso has been my family away from my family. It is my first job I gained coming out of college at Illinois State. It is an incredible honor to be in this position because my sole purpose as an educator is to help this community.”
Aschoff came to Proviso as a science teacher at Proviso East and has since served in various positions within the district, including science department chair in 2017.
In 2019, Aschoff became the science district coordinator and has been serving as the coordinator of data assessment for the district since 2021.
Aschoff went back to school to receive his superintendent certificate and is attending Concordia University for a doctorate of education degree.
Aschoff is also the co-author of “Teaching in a Competency-Based Secondary School,” a book that he authored alongside Robert J. Marzano and Ashley Avila.
His partner in this new adventure, Pavone, said he was also honored to have been selected as co-interim superintendent.
While Pavone is new with the district — he started in 2023 — he has a long history as an educator.
Pavone has served in positions such as building administrator and deputy superintendent.
From 2016 through 2020, Pavone was the assistant principal at Beverly Hills High School and the executive director for human resources for the Beverly Hills Unified School District.
For the last three years before coming to Proviso, Pavone was the assistant superintendent in the Elmhurst school district.
“All of my experiences have led me up to this point,” Pavone said. “I didn’t know this opportunity was going to happen but I think everything is working out the way it is. I really like Proviso Township. There are a lot of great things happening in this district.”
Pavone said he is looking forward to continuing to work together with Aschoff.
“We are just happy to be able to provide the necessary guidance to get all three of our buildings to that end of the school year,” Pavone said.
While both educators said they would consider a role of superintendent before retiring from their education careers, right now the focus is the needs of D209.
“What we can do in that time is work with our teachers and help out students,” said Aschoff. “Work with the community, work with the parents on what can be done in the time that Mr. Pavone and I are in the position. One of my best friends always says ‘we’ll see,’ so we’ll see.”
As D209 continues its search for a permanent superintendent, they have continued to invite the community to be a part of those conversations. A community forum was held on Wednesday at Proviso East’s auditorium and a virtual community forum was held on Thursday night through Google meets, with a link available on the district’s website.