Award-Winning Principal Shirley Mertz '68 Promoted to Assistant School Superintendent

January 24, 2003

January 24, 2003, Greencastle, Ind. - "One of the area's most academically successful high schools is losing its award-winning principal," begins an article in Illinois' Hoffman Estates Review on a 1968 DePauw University graduate who is taking on a new challenge. "Township High School District 211 administrators announced at the January 16 Board of Education meeting that Fremd High School Principal Shirley [Zivich] Mertz will be taking a position in the district's administrative offices next year. In July, Mertz will replace the retiring assistant superintendent for administration, Jack Gaza, at the G.A. McElroy Administration center. At her new position, Mertz will oversee district legal issues, school improvement plans, the district's handling of the No Child Left Behind Act, and administrative recertification requirements. Mertz will also work to eliminate the district's academic achievement gap and mentor new principals throughout the district," writes Patrick Corcoran.

“I'm excited to have Shirley Mertz returning to the administration center. She has been a leader at Fremd and her experience and knowledge of the district make her an extremely valuable asset,” says superintedent Robert Malito.

The newspaper notes that "Mertz graduated from DePauw University in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in political science. She received a master's degree in urban studies from Loyola University in 1971. She earned the degree of Juris Doctor from Loyola University School of Law in 1979." Mertz has served as principal of Fremd since 1996.

You can read the article in its entirety by clicking here. A news release on Shirley Mertz's appointment can be accessed here.

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