Mr. Bonne joined Rockford Public Schools in 2006 as community development coordinator. In that role, he produces print, audio-video and online mass communications, works with news organizations to promote positive school initiatives and raises private funds for special projects. He was a member of the Kids Win Steering Committee that passed a 2006 tax referendum for Rockford schools. Mr. Bonne worked for more than 20 years as a newspaper and magazine writer-editor whose assignments included reporting on education for the Rockford Register Star; he is a four-time Illinois Press Association award winner. Mr. Bonne holds a bachelor's degree from Northern Illinois University.

In her current position as Assistant Superintendent for Student Support, Mrs. Cyrus oversees special education, social work, nursing and student discipline, among other responsibilities. Mrs. Cyrus joined Rockford Public Schools as a special education teacher in 1989 and worked in supervisory positions in special education from 1994 until assuming her Cabinet post in 2007. Before moving to Rockford, she taught special education in Wyoming and Indiana. Mrs. Cyrus holds a bachelor's degree from Northern Michigan University, a master's degree from Northern Illinois University and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Educational Leadership and Administration from National Louis University.

Dr. Hardy works as founder and chief executive officer for the Sigma Beta Leadership Charter School, which is preparing to open in Rockford in 2010. He served as principal at Ellis Arts Academy in Rockford from 2004 to 2008 and for three years before that as an assistant principal at Auburn High School. A native of Chicago, Dr. Hardy earned his bachelor's degree at Xavier University in New Orleans, master's degrees from Harvard University and Cambridge College and a doctorate from Andersonville Theological Seminary. He taught history in Boston from 1997 until his move to Rockford in 2001.

Mr. Katz was hired as board attorney/general counsel for Rockford Public Schools in 2004 after working 25 years in private practice in labor, employment and school law in Chicago, Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin. Throughout his time in private practice, Mr. Katz represented the Rockford Education Association (among other teachers unions) and acted as its trial attorney during the federal desegregation lawsuit against Rockford schools from 1989 to 2002. Mr. Katz served as counsel to the Governor's Commission to Rewrite the School Code of Illinois from 2001 to 2003. Early in his career, he was staff attorney for the Washington, D.C-based Air Line Pilots Association. Mr. Katz holds bachelor's and law degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Mr. Lewis currently holds the title of CFO in the Recovery School District in Louisiana, where he is credited with establishing an equity- and reform-minded budget process, improving cash flow, retiring debt and reducing the size of the finance staff by 30 percent. He has managed budgets as large as $740 million annually in Atlanta and occupied top business positions in school systems in St. Louis and Jackson, Mississippi, among other communities. Mr. Lewis holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern Mississippi and has completed post-graduate work toward an MBA at Mississippi State University and Webster University in St. Louis.

Mrs. Ramirez joined Rockford Public Schools in 1996 and has worked as an Elementary Teacher, Teacher Recruiter, and Director of Family Resource Center. In her current position as the Special Assistant to the Superintendent, she will be the Charter Compliance Officer and work closely with Community Partnerships, Accountability, and Research, Data, and Assessment. A Rockford native and Jefferson High School Graduate, she holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Adminisration from Columbia College, completed post-graduate course work in Elementary Education at Northern Illinois University and Rockford College, and will complete her Masters in Administration and Supervision in May 2010 through the University of Phoenix.

Mrs. Nelson has been employed in her current position since 2007 and served before that as Cabinet-level confidential clerical support. Since 2003, she has worked in secretarial and administrative assistant roles at Ellis Arts Academy, Eisenhower Middle School, the Family Resource Center and the Fresh Start program for students with behavioral problems. A native of Rockford, Mrs. Nelson spent eight years in the private sector, first as the business administrator for Verizon Wireless and later as the office manager reporting to the vice president of a local telecommunications company.

Mr. Schmidt has overseen maintenance of buildings and grounds at 54 facilities since he joined Rockford Public Schools as operations and maintenance director in 2001. His current duties also include management of information technology, security and utilities for Rockford schools. Mr. Schmidt served six years in the U.S. Navy as supervisory electronics technician with tours of duty in Japan and the Persian Gulf; he placed first in his training class. After leaving the military in 1992, Mr. Schmidt worked in production management for local manufacturing businesses. He has studied at Rock Valley College and the American Management Association.