Sister Mary Brian Costello has been named superintendent of the 190,000-student Archdiocese of Chicago school system. She is the first woman to hold the post.
Sister Costello has taught in Catholic elementary schools in Chicago and Ottawa, Ill., and taught English and rhetoric at three Chicago-area high schools and at Xavier College, from which she graduated.
She served as principal of Mother McAuley High School in Chicago for three years, worked as director of ministry for the Chicago province of the Sisters of Mercy from 1973 to 1979, and later joined the planning staff of the office of Catholic education for the archdiocese.
Herbert Sang, the superintendent of schools in Duval County, Fla., has received the American Association of School Administrators’ Leadership for Learning Award. Mr. Sang received the award in recognition of his successful efforts to raise student achievement in the 98,000-student district.
As a result of Mr. Sang’s student-achievement project, launched in 1976, the district improved its position among Florida school systems, moving from 56th place to first place in communication and mathematics skills. Black students showed especially large gains, improving their performance by 229 percent on the mathematics section of the state’s functional-literacy test.
In addition, all schools in the system are accredited by the regional accrediting association, making it the largest fully accredited district in the nation.
Mr. Sang received the award at the association’s annual meeting, held last month in Las Vegas.
