School District U-46 Announces Six New Administrator Appointments

New Principals at Kenyon Woods and Abbott Middle Schools and Century Oaks Elementary 

ELGIN - On Monday, April 13, 2026, the U-46 Board of Education appointed six candidates to leadership roles within the district, five effective for the 2026-27 school year, and one effective as of June 1.

For biographical details, see below. 

Paige Moran - Executive Director of the High School Network 

Paige Moran has been selected to take on the role of executive director of schools for the high school network. She will assume the role for the 2026-27 school year, following the appointment of William Johnson as the new assistant superintendent of teaching and learning.

Ms. Moran has over a decade of experience in developing strategic plans, creating environments that are safe and conducive to learning, and collaborating with employees and administrators to improve educational outcomes.

Since 2023, Ms. Moran has been principal of Streamwood High School, aligning curriculum, assessment, and classroom practices to school improvement plan goals and district priorities. She has also implemented data-driven academic interventions and high-impact instructional strategies, contributing to measurable gains in academic and culture-related metrics, including a 3 percent increase in average attendance, a 14 percent increase in extracurricular participation, and a Gallup employee engagement survey score increase from 3.26 to 3.80 during her tenure as principal.

Prior to serving as principal, Ms. Moran held the position of assistant principal of STEM at Streamwood High School for a year. Before joining U-46, Ms. Moran worked for 10 years at Pritzker College Prep in Chicago, serving as a ninth grade math teacher, dean of students, and then assistant principal from 2019 to 2022.

Ms. Moran earned her bachelor’s degree in communication and history at DePaul University and her Master of Education in educational leadership and supervision from National Louis University.

Dr. Jacqueline J. Menoni - Executive Director of the Bartlett Network 

Dr. Jacqueline J. Menoni has been selected to take on the position of executive director for the Bartlett Network, beginning with the 2026-27 school year and following the retirement of Dr. Kyle Bunker.

Dr. Menoni has nearly two decades of experience in education, including roles as a teacher, adjunct professor, principal, and superintendent. She is deeply passionate about closing the achievement gap for all students and is skilled in principal development.

From 2024-2025, Dr. Menoni was the area superintendent of Waukegan Public Schools, overseeing the day-to-day operations of 16 preschool-through-fifth grade schools. As area superintendent, she coached and evaluated all principals, led monthly principal and assistant principal meetings to provide professional development, helped implement a new Tier One curriculum, collaborated weekly with the academic team to support cross-district initiatives, and worked closely with the human resources and legal departments to manage grievances and employee discipline. Additionally, she launched a new budget process and trimmed $1.3 million dollars from local school funds in response to district overspending concerns.

From 2015-2024, she served as a principal in Chicago Public Schools, where her building served as a model school for distributed leadership practices for teacher leaders. During her time as the school’s instructional leader, it moved up two achievement levels on Chicago’s school quality rating policy, and she was named a Golden Apple Leader of the Year.

Dr. Menoni earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Illinois at Chicago, her master’s of education in educational leadership from the American College of Education, and her doctorate in urban educational leadership from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Jennifer Reyes - Principal of Kenyon Woods Middle School 

Jennifer Reyes has been selected to become the next principal Kenyon Woods, beginning with the 2026-27 school year and following the departure of Rebecca Gabrenya.

Throughout her career, Mrs. Reyes has demonstrated exceptional skills in managing diverse teams of educators and support staff to address the academic, social-emotional, and post-secondary needs of students.

Since July 2024, Mrs. Reyes has served as the Abbott Middle School principal where she worked to build authentic relationships, aligned employee efforts with the district’s new strategic plan, aligned instructional leadership teams, and created systems that united employees around culture and belonging. As the district is retiring Abbott, she also coordinated all efforts to help “sunset” the school.

Prior to serving as principal, Mrs. Reyes was the assistant principal of freshman success for two years at Bartlett High School. Before her career in U-46, Mrs. Reyes’ leadership roles included assistant principal of student services at East Aurora High School in District 131, dean of students at Metea Valley High School in Indian Prairie School District 204, and dean of students at Plainfield North High School in District 202.

Mrs. Reyes began her educational career as a Spanish teacher for eight years, teaching various levels of Spanish and developing a curriculum for native speakers.

Mrs. Reyes earned a bachelor’s degree in foreign language and secondary education from Eastern Illinois University and her master’s degree in educational administration from Governors State University.

Jason Krause - Principal of Abbott Middle School

Jason Krause will become principal at Abbott Middle School starting with the 2026-27 school year, following the move of Jennifer Reyes to Kenyon Woods Middle School. While Legacy Middle School is under construction, the Abbott location will serve as a shared campus, housing both sixth grade Legacy students and eighth grade Abbott students.

Mr. Krause is committed to building strong relationships and creating systems that support both student success and a sense of belonging. He believes effective schools are grounded in collaboration, consistent communication, and a shared responsibility to ensure all students have access to high-quality learning experiences.

Mr. Krause has been an administrator In U-46 for the past four years, and is currently the interim principal at Centennial Elementary. Since stepping into the role midyear, he has focused on strengthening systems, improving communication, and increasing visibility to support both staff and students. Mr. Krause has prioritized elevating student voice and building a positive school culture through student leadership opportunities and daily engagement with students and staff.

Prior to Centennial, Mr. Krause served as assistant principal at Spring Trail Elementary, where he strengthened collaboration across general education and specialized programs, and helped expand meaningful opportunities for students in self-contained settings to access the general education environment. He also supported instructional growth through team collaboration, data-driven decision-making, and classroom feedback.

Mr. Krause began his administrative career at Edgebrook Elementary School in McHenry School District 15. Prior to administration, he spent over 16 years as a physical and health education teacher, coordinator, and athletic director, working with diverse student populations across multiple grade levels.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and a master’s in educational leadership from Lewis University.

Ashley Talip - Principal of Century Oaks Elementary School

Ashley Talip has been selected to take on the role of principal at Century Oaks Elementary School for the 2026-27 school year, following the retirement of Cheryl Frederickson.

Since 2022, Ms. Talip has served as the assistant principal of Century Oaks Elementary School, where she successfully implemented restorative practices to shift the overall culture and climate in the building. In this role, she supports the development and implementation of Continuous Improvement Plans, interviews and trains employees, leads and facilitates special education service team meetings, supports initiatives centered on student behavior, discipline systems, and attendance, and evaluates the effectiveness of instruction of teachers through formal and informal observations, providing actionable feedback.

From 2013-2022, Ms. Talip was a school social worker at Lowrie Elementary School, where she provided social work services to general and special education students, managed crisis interventions, created functional behavior analysis and behavior management plans for students, and collaborated with teachers to implement effective and appropriate social/emotional goals, among other tasks.

Ms. Talip is passionate about engaging in continued work around high-impact teaching strategies, student-centered learning, and providing rigorous lessons while leading with integrity, compassion, and vision.

Ms. Talip earned her Bachelor of Social Work and her Master of Social Work from Aurora University and her Master of Educational Leadership from the American College of Education.

Brent Braski - Director of Plant Operations

Brent Braski has been selected as U-46’s director of plant operations, starting June 1.

Since January 2025, Mr. Braski has served as the director of facilities for Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205, where he oversees the operations of the custodial, maintenance, and grounds teams in the district. He is responsible for the creation and oversight of the operations and maintenance budget, as well as the capital projects budget. He works with frontline managers to care for and operate district facilities and is also responsible for the operation and upkeep of district vehicles. Mr. Braski has worked to set a positive culture for the department and a standard of excellence, as he views the work as having a direct impact on the education of students.

For two years prior, he held the director of maintenance role for Kane County Building Management. In this capacity, he directed maintenance operations for 30 buildings, totaling nearly 1 million square feet, ensuring optimal facility performance and long-term sustainability.

From 2010-22, Mr. Braski served as a maintenance lead at Joliet Junior College, where he led major remodels, repairs, and energy-saving projects, directed updates to fire control and building automation systems, and ensured compliance and safety across buildings.

Mr. Braski earned an associate’s degree from Joliet Junior College.

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School District U-46 serves families in 11 communities: Bartlett, Elgin, Hanover Park, South Elgin, Streamwood and Wayne, as well as portions of Carol Stream, Hoffman Estates, St. Charles, Schaumburg, and West Chicago. In total, the District encompasses 90 square miles within the Fox River Valley, approximately 45 minutes northwest of downtown Chicago, and includes communities within Cook, DuPage and Kane counties. Thirty-three thousand preschoolers through twelfth graders attend the 56 District schools and programs. To learn more, visit the U-46 website, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn.