Joliet West Names New High School Principal

Joliet IL

16 March, 2022

9:28 AM

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JOLIET, IL — Tecara Parker will become the next principal of Joliet West High School starting this summer, District 204 announced Wednesday morning. "I am very excited to work with Tecara Parker in her role as principal," Joliet Township Superintendent Karla Guseman announced in a statement posted on the District website. "Mrs. Parker has demonstrated her dedication to the students and families at Joliet West in her previous and current role within the district." Parker replaces Joliet West principal Teresa Gibson, who is taking a cut in pay of more than $80,000 to stay on with the district as a high school teacher beginning next fall. According to District 204 salary data, Gibson is currently the third highest paid school official during the 2021-2022 school year, making $215,959 as West's principal. In the fall, as a teacher, Gibson will make $132,835, a recent Joliet Patch Freedom of Information Act request found. Gibson will be placed on Step 28, MA plus 60 of the 2021-2022 teacher contract. She will receive a 6 percent increase due to being in the third year of her retirement track. Her total salary will be $132,834.50. Teresa Gibson will not be the Joliet West principal when the fall school year begins. Image via District 204 Gibson's last year as principal was marked by widespread violence in her school's hallways and in the cafeteria, and Gibson was attacked while trying to break up one of the fights in October. Parker began her career at Joliet West in 2019 as dean of students before moving into her current position as director of pupil personnel services. Before coming to Joliet West, she was dean of students and director of summer school at Bloom Trail High School, and she was an English instructor at Hugh Manley Career Academy, according to District 204. Parker resides in Joliet and is a member of the National Hook Up of Black Women, Inc. Joliet Chapter. She also serves as a Youth and Young Adult Department Worker for Redeem Church Ministries in Joliet. "She is enthusiastic about leading our staff at West campus to ensure the success of all students and is a talented educational leader who has the capacity to build a culture of trust, support, and partnership," Guseman said in Wednesday's announcement.