Dr. Dan Applegate - Superintendent of Schools

August 19, 2022
Dear Niles Community Schools Families,
Niles Community School is eager to welcome our students back to our classrooms for the 2022-23 school year. Our district’s teachers, staff and administrators have been hard at work during the summer months to ensure the return to school is as smooth as possible.
Niles Community Schools has had a series of updates take effect during the summer. This includes staffing updates and changes, including the appointment of Jeron Blood as the district’s Director of Special Education and hiring Brooke Brawley as Director of Curriculum and Instruction. Blood most recently served as the district’s Assistant Director of Special Education and Social Emotional Learning. He served as the principal at Southside School and Northside Child Development Center. Brawley comes to Niles with 18 years of education experience, most recently serving as Interim Superintendent at Cassopolis Public Schools.
We are also excited to announce the following hires and updates:
- Jim Brawley as Varsity Baseball Coach
- Jessica Johnson as the district’s Student Affairs Coordinator
- Scott Riddenbach as Varsity Boys Soccer Coach
- Melissa Rough as Districtwide Behavioral Consultant and Northside Assistant Principal
- Dave Scheile as Varsity Girls Golf Coach
- Shawn Major-Winston as Principal of Southside and Northside
- Stacey Recker as Co-Principal at Ballard Elementary
- Heather Loos as Assistant Principal at Howard Ellis Elementary
- Brandy Carrington as Assistant Principal at Niles High School
- Jillian Haney as Assistant Principal at Ring Lardner
- Catherine Norris as Dean of Students at Niles High School
Niles Community Schools is also excited to announce that construction began on our Viking Stadium to install synthetic turf. This new field will be used by several of our sports teams, our award winning band, and community youth recreational leagues. Thank you again to the donors who made this possible.
We are eager to build upon the ongoing successes of our school community. As we look ahead to all this upcoming year will bring, Niles Community Schools is continuously grateful for your ongoing support and dedication to your child’s academic career. We look forward to spending the 2022-23 school years as your educational partner.
Educationally yours,

Dr. Daniel Applegate, Superintendent