Dr. Javier Abrego is the Superintendent at School City of East Chicago. This is his 46th year in the field of Education and this will be his 17th year with the School City of East Chicago. He retired in 2004 and then served 15 years as a Superintendent in Arizona and Colorado. Dr. Abrego lives on Kentucky Lake but came out of retirement to help the SCEC succeed.
Dr. Abrego was previously working out west as a Turnaround Superintendent. He was fortunate to elevate three underperforming districts from a failing status to an excelling status within a two- or three-year period. He was able to do this by partnering with Vail Unified School District and implementing their Beyond Textbooks Curriculum Framework. The Framework is used by over 100 districts in Arizona and throughout the United States. We are implementing it this year in East Chicago.
Dr. Abrego loves helping schools and districts succeed because it greatly improves the culture and climate within the district. When schools are elevated, everyone wins because students' academic achievement improves, the caliber of teaching is elevated, and the parents and community are happy and involved.
His goal is to have all schools in East Chicago rated as Excelling Schools. He hopes to introduce many dual credit courses that will allow students to graduate with one or two years of college credits. Another goal is to start a Career Center in their district and possibly an Alternative School to meet the needs of non-traditional students.
Dr. Abrego is a former track and cross-country coach and he loves to run. He is a member of the Calumet Region Striders and has been running the Chicago Marathon since 1977. In his spare time, he likes to fish, bike, and kayak in beautiful locations throughout the United States.
