This Huntley Middle School principal made the jump from teacher to administrator in her hometown of DeKalb

DeKALB – Huntley Middle School Principal Treveda Redmond has always wanted to leave her mark in the place where it all started for her: Her hometown of DeKalb.

Before landing her current post with DeKalb School District 428, she assumed a variety of positions ranging from a teacher at Huntley and Clinton-Rosette middle schools to assistant principal and principal in Rockford Public Schools.

This past fall, things came full circle when Redmond landed the top school building administrator job at Huntley Middle School in DeKalb.

“It brings me back again to where I started,” Redmond said. “I’m active in my community. I believe in impacting the place where you live. So, these are the people that see me in the grocery stores, they see me out walking my dog, they see me at the high school, my daughter. So, I’m around in town. I have always continued to be active in DeKalb, even when I was in another school district.”

While working for Rockford Public Schools for several years, Redmond didn’t forget her DeKalb kids.

She played a part in organizing the annual local Back-to-School Bash, put on by New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, to help area youth start the school year on a positive note. This year, the event will embark on its 11-year anniversary thanks, in part, to the efforts of organizers such as Redmond.

Redmond said she is hoping to make the Back-to-School Bash bigger and better than past years this time around.

“I do miss being in one classroom, but I always knew that that wouldn’t be my stopping place, that I wouldn’t end there. I’ve always wanted to impact a larger amount of students. In the classroom, I only get this many students a couple times a day. There are other students that need me, too.”

—  Treveda Redmond, principal at Huntley Middle School in DeKalb

For Redmond, it’s fulfilling to effect change in the place in which she lives, she said.

“One thing my mother always said, ‘When you leave a place, make sure your footprint is there,’ ” Redmond said. “I know that me leaving Rockford, my footprint is there. Me leaving Rockford to go to DeKalb, my footprint was always here. So, to come back, it’s just full circle. I’m able to make change in the places that I live.”

Redmond said she likes how as principal at Huntley Middle School she is afforded the ability to pop into students’ classes and stop by the cafeteria between meetings.

“I’m not just confined to these four walls because I feel like I don’t have a ceiling,” Redmond said. “I’m continuing to grow myself, even in this position. I was a middle school principal in my past, but what I did before is way different from here. I’m on a constant journey of continuing to grow myself. I’m a lifelong learner.”

It’s not often that she gets the chance to brush off her teaching chops and interact with students on a regular basis, which she said she misses from her time as an educator.

“Occasionally, I’ll jump into a classroom,” Redmond said. “We’ll get subs. I know in Rockford there were many opportunities, especially at the elementary level, that I had to jump into kindergarten.”

Redmond said there’s a lot to like about being a principal, but there are things she still cherishes about being a teacher in a classroom setting with students.

“I do miss being in one classroom, but I always knew that that wouldn’t be my stopping place, that I wouldn’t end there,” Redmond said. “I’ve always wanted to impact a larger amount of students. In the classroom, I only get this many students a couple times a day. There are other students that need me, too.”

Some things, however, were worth leaving behind, Redmond joked.

“So, I do miss [those] small interactions that I can have. Do I miss grading essays? No,” Redmond said. “But I do miss having that one-on-one time with students, being able to connect with them and conference with them.”

Edelee Hester, an office professional for Huntley Middle School, said it has been a pleasure getting to know Redmond over the past several months.

Both Hester and Redmond started their current jobs at Huntley Middle School at the start of the school year in the fall.

“She’s always a very positive person with everybody she comes into contact with, very fair with everyone she speaks to, polite, respectful and just a joy to work with,” Hester said.

Hester said it’s easy to work with an administrator who exudes leadership as Redmond does.

“She’s always thoughtful of our needs,” Hester said. “[She’s] always asking if we need anything, if she could help with anything that we need in the office. [She] always gets back to us if we have any questions or comments. If we’re just having a bad day, she’ll just be like, ‘OK, well, how can I help you? How can I make things better for you?’ ”

Redmond acknowledged that it’s a balancing act to maintain trust in situations when teachers may feel excluded from decision-making. She said that securing the buy-in of teachers in her building remains an ongoing effort for her. She said she believes it’s achieved through conversations.

“Granted, I’ve said to teachers at staff meetings that there are some decisions that I will have to make in silos that I can’t include other input,” Redmond said. “But there are also other decisions that I am willing and have to make with my teachers.”

Redmond said she believes she has an adequate feel for the teachers in her building at this point in her first full year as principal. She credits the buy-in she’s been able to generate to how she said she tackles leadership.

“There has to be that trust between the principal and teachers, and that is growing because I’m a new principal here,” Redmond said. “Any good administrator knows that when you come into a building that first you observe. So, I’ve done a lot of observing and creating trust. I have an open-door policy that my door stays open. Teachers know that they can drop in any time.”