LFHS’ own Dr. Chala Holland has received the honor of being named the Lake Region High School Principal of the Year by the Illinois Principals Association. Holland, along with a pool of fellow nominees, will be selected at the end of February for a statewide honor.  Nominated principals were selected by their contribution to the school and their ability to enhance learning opportunities for their students. The nominees and award winners must lead by example to their peers and make significant contributions to their profession. 

Years before Holland began her tenure at LFHS,  she played D1 Women’s Basketball at Northwestern University. Upon her graduation from the school, she began to teach at Evanston Township High School as a social studies teacher.

“My years teaching were the best years of my life. I loved it,” said Holland, “There’s no feeling like the feel of the classroom and being able to build relationships with students.”

Holland eventually left ETHS and transferred to Oak Park River Forest as the Assistant Principal. Holland took her experience as a teacher to help shape her goals as an administrator, which in part was creating a tight knit community between students and staff. 

In 2015, Holland began her tenure at LFHS, which sparked controversy among some community members. However, Holland’s work over the course of the past few years, with the help of her colleagues and Superintendent Michael Simeck, has helped create an engaging environment for both students and staff at LFHS.

In the past year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Holland and Simeck had unexpected challenges thrown their way with little preparation and a quick turnaround in March for making remote learning possible, and have since improved the quality of the remote learning model and now the hybrid model for LFHS.

Holland’s resilience has shone through in the challenges thrown at her away, especially in the past year. Thus, she received her regional title because of her strength, dignity, and desire to go further. 

“During her tenure, Chala has also realigned administrative positions to ensure leadership for newly developed instructional systems,” Simeck said in the LFHS press release, “I would be remiss if I did not add that much of this has taken place as she has also navigated the uncharted waters of leading our high school during a pandemic.”

COVID-19 has brought along many challenges; however, Holland said she was committed to helping students and staf adjust.

“I’m the type of person that when things are out of my control, I try to make the best of the situation,” said Holland, “So with navigating the pandemic, both personally and professionally, I have been thinking about all of the needs of the students and all of the needs of the staff.”

Holland, Simeck, and their team worked over the past summer with the majority of the staff to form a school plan that would keep everyone safe and healthy, while also stimulating the most engaging environment for students and staff. Though Simeck plans to retire at the end of the school year, Holland feels confident that their work has and will continue to leave a lasting impact on their resilient student body.

“Going into this year, a lot of planning has occurred since last spring and throughout the summer. There were many people that worked in the summer who worked hard and , thinking back to last spring,” said Holland, “I’ve always tried to make the best out of a situation that isn’t ideal. We have been doing everything we can to continue student learning, staying connected to students, and also support our staff and students.”

Since beginning her tenure at LFHS, Holland has had many goals from promoting an inclusive environment, engagement in student activities, participation in the classroom, and increased bonds between students and teachers.

“I believe all students should have a well-rounded educational experience. Having an inclusive and dynamic learning environment where students can explore different subject areas and where students are challenged in the classroom. Learning from each other and not only from the teacher. Learn to think critically. Engagement in the classroom has been really big for me because I should be exposed to a lot of different ways to learn about topics.” 

The pandemic has proven to be a struggle for not only the community, but has been a challenge for Holland to further achieve her goals. However, Holland has overcome the challenges and simply looked through moving towards her goals with a different lens. 

“Our vision is to continue to move forward with our instructional work and social and emotional learning work. But now, we are just operating within a different context. It’s not that everything is thrown out of a window that we’ve been working on. It’s really thinking about what our vision and mission now looks like in a remote and e-hybrid setting,” said Holland, “Our work never stops; it’s just how is it now going to show up differently in the current learning environment.” 

From the remote learning model to the new hybrid model, Holland has been able to work towards her goals for LFHS alongside her trusted team. Holland has emphasized how the work put in for making the remote and e-hybrid model is a team effort by the staff, and her team is just as deserving of praise. 

“Dr. Holland has led Lake Forest High School for the last six years with integrity, vision, and an immense ethic of care for our students, families, and the staff she leads,” said Assistant Principal Dr. Patrick Sassen, “I am inspired by her and grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of her team.” 

Holland and her team have worked hard for this past year to run smoothly given the pandemic while trying to maintain an innovative atmosphere at LFHS. Instead of looking at the negative effects of remote learning, Holland claims there have been silver linings with some students finding remote learning to be effective for them. However, Holland empathizes with all teachers and staff for wanting to go back to school. 

“The human part of learning and being in connection with each other, that is the most challenging part of all of this. Teachers love being with students and students love being with teachers. Everyone loves being on campus and being with each other. Extracurriculars and other points of connection have not been severed but have been different,” said Holland, “Athletes are missing time with their coaches and their teammates. There really is no replacing that.”

“We are trying to foster relationships in this environment, and we are figuring how we can keep students connected and help find different points of connection for students during this time,” said Holland. 

Regardless, throughout all of the obstacles of the past year with many uncertainties on the line. Holland’s team of staff – including Sassen, Simeck, and the administrative team – along with Holland’s motives have made her time as a principal at LFHS stand out especially in the Lake County Region. 

“I want us to be able to maximize all potential of our students, and that comes down to the experiences we can provide for them,” said Holland, “Our vision is something that is out there floating in the atmosphere that is broken down into action steps that we are always going to be working towards.”