The Urbana Board of Education approved the appointments of Lidiya Wang as principal of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary, Derek Ely as associate principal of Urbana Middle School and Sean Smith as assistant principal at Urbana High School.
Wang is returning to Urbana School District from her role as Principal of the Pavilion School. Prior to that, she served as an Assistant Principal of Circle Academy. Wang started her career in Urbana as a teaching assistant and then teacher at Thomas Paine Elementary and Urbana High School.
Wang brings a strong background in educational leadership. She has extensive experience working with diverse student populations and is committed to fostering a supportive and inclusive school culture.
Ely will fill the Associate Principal vacancy created when Imani Carr was promoted to building administrator of the Urbana Sixth Grade Center. Ely currently serves as an Assistant Principal at Central High School in Champaign where he plays a key role in school improvement and the AVID program. His experience also includes Dean of Students at Central High School and Physical Education/Health Teacher at the READY Program Alternative School.
Ely has undergraduate and graduate degrees in Architecture and a K-12 post-baccalaureate teaching certificate and administrative endorsement.
Smith is a proud Urbana High School graduate. He will fill the Assistant Principal vacancy at UHS created after Melissa Kearns was promoted to Principal at Urbana Middle School. Smith is currently an associate principal at Edison Middle School. Prior to that, he served various roles at Edison, including Dean of Students, Athletic Director and Special Education Teacher.
Smith holds two Master’s Degrees, one in Special Education and another in Educational Policy and Leadership.
All three administrators will begin their roles in July. We are excited to welcome these proven leaders in our mission to educate, nurture and engage all students.