Fenger Academy High School Principals - Fenger High School Alumni Association

Add Me To Your Mailing List

Harry A. Williams, III - President (Class of '75)

Established July 1, 2011

FengerHighSchool.org

WELCOME
FENGER TITANS!

FENGER HIGH SCHOOL ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Mescha Lammy,
Principal

HomeLineage of Fenger Academy Principals

Mescha Lammy - 2019 to : Before becomming principal in November 2019, Ms. Lammy was Fenger's Assistant Principal for 4 years.

Richard C. Smith - 2015 to 2019: Before coming to Fenger, Richard Smith's accomplishments include participating in the High School Transformation Project as the CEO Administrator of Transformation for Chicago Public Schools. Richard was a primary contributor to the development and creation of an External Security Plan, which provides a “safe passage” for students to and from school. This plan was a part of his disciplinarian experience that has reduced the suspension rate when Richard was principal at Richard T. Crane High School. His efforts resulted in improved school attendance and graduation rates resulting in Crane moving to a level two school for the first time in eleven years. He also led the inclusion efforts for staff to comply with the Corey H. Least Restrictive Environment Movement for special needs students, and devoted seven years to teaching students with special needs.

During Richard’s previous years as principal he has prepared himself for this task at Fenger by participating in the Office of Principals Preparation and Development Module. He has served as the assistant principal for three (3) years prior to becoming the principal of Crane, and his experience is surpassed by the fact that he had the opportunity to serve under the tutelage of Melver L. Scott, a mentor for the LIFT program and a 39-year CPS veteran. Richard has furthered his studies by attending the Harvard Principals Summer Institute in 2006, 2007, and 2008. He is a member of the Chicago Area Alliance of Black School Educators (CAABSE) and enjoys exercising weekly by playing in scrimmage basketball games. He is a graduate of Auburn University and a proud member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

Richard has a myriad of educational experience in every leadership capacity. His specialties include the ability to motivate staff to perform to their maximum potential, thereby increasing the achievement level of youngsters, encouraging them to become lifelong learners. He is instrumental in devising innovative techniques that address areas of strengths and weaknesses in the curriculum and in the operation of an institution. Richard has strong leadership and managerial experience. He is an intuitive individual whose motivational techniques and interpersonal skills have improved the quality of every learning environment that he has managed.

In leaving Fenger, Mr. Smith took a position with CPS as Deputy Chief of Small Schools.

Elizabeth "Liz" Dozier - 2009 to 2015: Liz Dozier now helms Chicago Beyond which has invested tens of millions of dollars in community groups, partnering with the University of Chicago Urban Labs and other research organizations to measure impact, and share and expand best practices. How did she get here...

Until the age of 5, Dozier was separated from a father in prison, and drug addiction would take him out of her life again at age 13. “My first memory of him is driving down with my mom to Joliet on weekends to see him. It wasn’t until he was released that I got to experience what it was like to have two parents in the home. Before that, I thought everybody visited a family member in prison on weekends,” she said. “But I had my mom, my grandmother and my uncle, who provided this like wrap-around support.”

The educator was thrust into the national spotlight in 2009 with the fatal beating of a 16-year-old honor student outside Fenger High School, a video that went viral and brought Chicago and CPS international notoriety. But it also brought a four-year federal grant that helped the new, young principal turn Fenger around — the drop-out rate going from 19 percent to 2 percent, and the graduation rate from 30 percent to 80 percent — in her six-year tenure. “A lot of my students had parents who were incarcerated, but not every child had that family support. I saw firsthand the sense of loss that can be coupled with depression, sense of shame. There’s all these things that can be residuals,” she said. “Without those supports, we start to see our young people go into these cycles, which makes what we’re doing so critical and imperative."

William E. Johnson - 2005 to 2009: Known to all his friends as "Rick", William is a born educator who exemplifies Scholarship - one of four cardinal principles he ascribes to as a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. He received his B.S. degree in Elementary Education and Teaching from Alcorn State University, his M.S. in Educational Administration and Supervision from Roosevelt University and his Ed.D. in Educational, Instructional and Curriculum Supervision from Loyola University Chicago.

Before his naming as principal at Fenger High School, where he took over after the sickness and untimely death of his predecessor, William was principal first at Park Manor Elementary, then at Best Practice High School. After leaving Fenger he was named principal at Carver Military High School. All total, William was a principal for almost 14 years between 2002 and 2014.

In November 2014 William was named to his current position as Deputy Chief of Schools for Chicago Public Schools in Network 7.

Phyllis Marie Hodges - 2004 to 2005: She was Fenger's shortest serving principal.

Janice Bell Ollarvia - 1996 to 2004: Janice is a graduate of Northern Illinois University with a BS in Speech, Drama, English. She has a double Masters from Governors State University in Communication & Media Studies as well as in School Administration. Janice has a 20-year career as a school administrator in the Chicago Public Schools as a high school English Department chairman, assistant principal and principal. With more than 15 years experience in the private sector, Janice is recognized as a subject matter expert in Secondary School Improvement, as a Curriculum Consultant, a Professional Development Specialist, and as a Project Consultant for Leadership Development. Janice was also an Adjunct Instructor of Educational Administration at Governors State.

"We cannot make the kinds of movement we need to make in terms of student progress - especially in a school like Fenger which is on probation - if there isn't a sense that we all have to do this and have the support of parents. And that support comes from parents feeling like we respect them and their community, and want to involve them in their kids learning. If not, it cancels out everything else we think we're doing."

This stated belief made improved parent-school relationships an important part of Janice's goal while principal to raise test scores, reduce the drop-out rate and get Fenger off academic probation. At the time, over half the students scored in the bottom quartile nationally on standardized tests in reading and mathametics. Principal Ollarvia found that many of Fenger's parents also struggled with low skills that limited their involvement in their children's education.

"When you talk to parents individually and in conference, what you often find is that many of them don't feel adequate to help their kids with things like homework." To address this problem, and under Janice's direction, Fenger successfully adopted a multi-method approach that opened lines of communication and provided more assistance to parents.

Linda C. Layne - 1989 to 1996:A century minus 48 months; that's what it took to slip through the front door of the boardroom. Ninety-six years and the men's club has a new leader. Make way, men, for Fenger High School Principal Linda C. Layne, who at 51 became the first female President of the Board of Directors in the Illinois High School Association's 96 years. Unanimously elected by the Board to a one-year term in October 1994, Layne is also the first minority and first African-American to serve in that capacity.

"What do I think about being the first woman and minority in this job?" she says. "Probably, it's about time." That's Layne, as refreshingly candid as she is dedicated to equal opportunity on the athletic field and in the front office. "I have blue-collar, steel-worker roots," Layne says. "We had what's lacking a lot today-a work ethic and strong family ties. As an educator I know that kids learn behavior that's modeled for them. I got my leadership skills from my parents."

As a young girl, Layne enjoyed playing basketball and volleyball. At Gary Roosevelt High School she joined GAA-the Girls Athletic Association-enthusiastically taking on her first leadership role: sports coordinator. It was an era before Title IX, the federal law that mandated equal opportunity for female athletes. It was a time when girls were shuffled off to dimly lit gyms ("the girls' gym") to play half-court, no-more-than-two-dribbles basketball on an intramural level only.

"I don't think I even thought about the inequities then," says Layne. "I was having too much fun." From Gary Roosevelt she went on to do undergraduate and graduate work at Chicago State University. Next came an 18-year career as a history teacher at Harlan High School. She spent three years coordinating the social studies curriculum for the Chicago Board of Education before realizing "I wasn't having direct contact with students, and I really missed that."

Married to former Richards High School softball coach Larry Layne, Linda has two daughters, Leslie and Lynette, and a son, Larry Jr. Linda retired in 2002 while she was principal at Brooks College Prep High School.

Dr. Leo L. Dillon - 1970 to 1989: Fenger's longest serving principal in the modern era.

George Triezenberg - 1962 to 1970: .

Clarence T. Richardson - 1954 to 1962: Richardson began as an educator in the Frankfort, IN school system in 1931 where he taught for 6 years before becoming a math instructor for CPS at McKinley High School for eight years. He next became principal at Willard Elementary School in 1945, then principal at Pasteur Elementary School in 1948 before becoming principal at Steinmetz High School at the age of 55 in 1951. Richardson was transferred to become principal at Fenger High School after 3 years. There are not many activities of note recorded during the Richardson years as Fenger's principal - but two significant events both occured in 1958.

The first was the opening of Harlan High School which caused the CPS School Board to transfer 450 students from Fenger to Harlan to help alleviate the critical crowding problem at Fenger. In protest, parents demonstrated at Fenger, signed petitions to show their displeasure and even filed an emergency court injunction to stop the transfers. None of their actions were successful.

The second noteworthy event was Richardson's creation of a "Work as you learn" program. Under this program Fenger provided 2 weekly class periods of instruction in sales techniques, and elementary merchandising and bookeeping practices. Area merchants provided the students with 15 hours of on the job training and employment each week throughout the school year. They were paid as part-time employees.

John Edward Seney - 1948 to 1954: Was born in Marletta, MI and served in WW I as an Army Lieutenant. After his discharge he attended Michigan State Teachers College, University of Chicago and Northwestern University - where he received a Masters degree in Education.

In the more than 28 years he was associated with the Chicago Public Schools, John taught for a number of years at Lindbloom High School before being named principal at Orr Elementary School. He was later named principal at Shakespeare Elementary School, then in 1943 was named Principal at Parker Elementary School. On May 3, 1948 he was named principal of Fenger High School. In May 1954 Mr. Seney was transferred to Austin High School as its principal. At that time, Austin HS was the 2nd largest high school in the city of Chicago and the largest co-educational high school in Chicago with an enrollment of more than 5,000 pupils.

During his years at Fenger, Mr. Seney was a member of the Kiwanis Club of Roseland and served on the Board of Directors. When he left Fenger in 1954 to helm Austin High School, he was voted as an honorary member of the Kiwanis Club. John was married to Dorthea and the father of 2 girls.

J. Trimble Boyd - 1943 to 1948: Principal at Lake View High School.

James H. Smith - 1939 to 1943: .

Frederick W. Schacht - 1930 to 1939: Valedictorian of the 1893 graduating class of Moline High School, he had been engaged in the education field for the 33 years preceeding his appointment as Principal of Fenger High School with most of that time spent in Chicago schools.

Following a brilliant record at Moline HS, he entered the University of Illinois. He played end and half-back for 4 years on the varsity football team, was president of the athletic association, editor in chief of the Illini Student Publication and associate editor of the Junior class annual: Illio. He was a member of the athletic board of control, Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity, secretary-treasurer of the student assemby and salutatorian of his 1897 graduating class.

He was a one-term National Treasurer of the Phi Delta Kappa honorary fraternity and for 3 years its National President. He held memberships in the Fort Dearborn chapter of Phi Delta Kappa, the City Club, the Englewood Commandery, the Roseland Lions Club, the South End Chamber of Commerce and the Illinois Club, composed of graduates of the University of Illinois.

After graduating with his bachelors from the U of I, he was awarded a Fellowship at the university and served as instructor in science for 2 years while also receiving his Masters Degree. He then left to organize the Bloom Township High School in Chicago Heights, serving as principal until 1902, when he became principal of the Union District High School in Pensacola, IL, leaving there in 1904 to act as principal of Whiting High School in Indiana.

In 1906 he went to Chicago to teach science and German at Wendell Phillips High School where he remained until 1926, twelve years of which were as assistant principal. In 1926 he was appointed principal at Brenan Grammar School where he remained until 1930. His appointment to the principalship at Fenger was met with wide-spread community approval because of his record as principal at Brenan. He retired as principal in 1939 after reaching 65 years old - the CPS mandatory retirement age - then joined the faculty at Morgan Park Junior College as a German Professor.

Thomas Crawford Hill - 1905 to 1930: He moved to what is now Roseland in 1885 as principal of Curtis Grammar School. It was a community with no lights, water or paved roads. The inhabitants were mostly Dutch. Men wore wooden shoes and the area at that time was called Low Prairie. Curtis was located on Michigan Ave near Kensington Ave and the oldest part of the building had once been a Swedish church. In 1894 the school moved into a new building. Hill taught arithmetic and English in addition to being principal.

In 1905 he became principal of the new Curtis High School while still serving as principal of the grammar school - made easier because of the fact both schools occupied the same building. In 1906 a new wing was built, then in 1908 the high school moved to a new building located at 115th & State Street. In 1910, the high school was renamed Christian Fenger High School in honor of noted surgeon Dr. Christian Fenger.

Hill remained principal for both Curtis Grammar School and Christian Fenger High School, then in 1926, Fenger moved from the State Street location to a new building at 112th & Wallace Street where it stands today. Hill retired in 1930 after serving as a principal for more thn 40 years.