| | Linda Hernandez, Superintendent | Linda Hernandez is Superintendent of Rockford Public Schools, the third largest School District in Illinois and the largest employer in the Winnebago-Boone County area.
Mrs. Hernandez comes to the role of chief executive with a wide range of experience as a classroom teacher, a building principal, cabinet-level administrator and college instructor. She has been an educator for nearly 25 years, working in Rockford schools since 1986.
Mrs. Hernandez received her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from St. Norbert College in 1972 and a Master of Education Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from National Louis University in 1991. She completed studies toward her Superintendent’s License at the University of Wisconsin- Madison and Winona State University. She also holds a Certificate of Advanced Study in Educational Leadership, Administration and Supervision.
In 1983, Mrs. Hernandez accepted her first classroom job at St. Bernadette School in Rockford, where she taught 2nd, 7th and 8th grades. In 1986, she joined Rockford Public Schools and taught 1st grade, kindergarten and all-day kindergarten at Brookview and McIntosh Elementary schools before becoming a curriculum implementer.
During the 1990s, Mrs. Hernandez also served as a Math Methods Instructor on the adjunct faculty at Rockford College and as a Math Presenter instructing other educators in the Everyday Math Program through the University of Chicago.
Mrs. Hernandez served as the Principal of Jefferson Elementary School in DeKalb during the 1996-97 school year, then returned to Rockford as the Principal of Conklin Elementary School. In 1999, she accepted an offer to serve as Principal of Iowa-Grant High School in Livingston, Wisconsin, and became Superintendent of the Iowa-Grant School District in 2002.
Mrs. Hernandez returned to Rockford as Area Superintendent over secondary schools, then served as Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction. From 2004 until her appointment as Superintendent, Mrs. Hernandez served as Assistant Superintendent of Student Support and Community Outreach. In that role, she oversaw student discipline, student assignment, social work, health services and community outreach projects.
Outside of education, Mrs. Hernandez has served on Winnebago County Crime Commission and the Red Cross Board of Directors.
Mrs. Hernandez was born in Chicago and grew up in suburban Elmhurst. Her husband, Earl, is a retired Illinois State Police Deputy Director and currently the Chief Operating Officer at East High School in Rockford. Together, they are the proud parents of four sons (a dentist, orthopaedic surgeon, insurance executive, and national sales manager for a technology company) and a daughter, who is an attorney. Mrs. Hernandez has 12 grandchildren, all 6 years old or younger, including infant triplets. |
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