During the Wednesday, July 24th school board meeting, the Gary Community School Corporation announced the following individuals as members of the administrative leadership team:
Hank KiIander, Athletic Director
Hank Kilander joined the Gary Community Schools in December of 2020 as the District's Athletic Coordinator. He came to Gary from Merrillville High School.
In the past four years, he has been a major part of the West Side Athletic Department that saw major upgrades in facilities, a new conference affiliation, a re-branding of all district elementary and middle schools, the start up of a Unified Sports Program at West Side, and the reboot of both baseball and softball.
Kilander brings extensive experience as a coach and educator in Northwest Indiana. Prior
to Merrillville Kilander worked as an assistant coach at East Chicago Central High School in football, basketball, baseball, golf and wrestling.
Kilander attended Crown Point and Cathedral High Schools. He earned his Bachelor's Degree with honors from Calumet College.
Jovanka “Jo” Cvitkovich, Director of Human Resources
Jovanka Cvitkovich boasts a combination of training and experiences within and outside of the field of education. Her experience in sales and training are also contributing factors to her success as a teacher, administrator, entrepreneur and human resources practitioner.
She has extensive experience with personnel and legal matters involving tort claims; special education complaints, mediations, and due process hearings; as well as organized labor laws and processes.
She has spearheaded the organization of job fairs in multiple districts to support the hiring of all personnel, including hard-to-fill positions.
Jovanka has worked in the Duneland and East Chicago Schools and comes to us from the Hammond Schools as the Executive Director of Exceptional Learners.
Jo is a native of Northwest Indiana and holds a Bachelor Degree in Political Science from Purdue Northwest, a Master’s Degree in Special Education from Indiana University Northwest and a Master’s Degree in Leadership from Western Governors University.
Dee Etta Wright, Chief Operating Officer
Dee Etta Wright is a proud native of the region with more than 35 years of educational leadership experience. Her vast career in public education includes 32 years in the East Chicago schools serving as superintendent, middle school and high school principals, and science teacher. After a brief retirement in 2021, Wright served in a Curriculum and Instruction role in Chicago. For the past two years, she has served as an administrator in the Merrillville Community School Corporation.
Wright earned a Bachelor of Science in Education, and a master's in education from Indiana University Northwest. In addition, she earned thirty additional graduate credits beyond a master’s degree from various universities completing diverse course selections. In 2019, Wright earned an EdS from Indiana Wesleyan University.
Remarks by each of the new hires can be found on the live recording of the meeting on the Gary Community School Corporation Facebook page.