Math and Science Director 'Excited' About Possibilities With VVSD

Editor's Note: The following is a release from the Valley View School District.

“Everything is possible” as far as Lori Bobak is concerned.

“Everything is a learning opportunity," Valley View's new director of K-5 math and science says.

Bobak, who comes to VVSD with a strong science background and 12 years of experience in public and private education systems in Chicago, is excited about the direction in which Valley View is headed.

“We’re on a great path,” she said, noting that while most of the nation’s schools are just now getting to work incorporating new Common Core Standards into their curriculum in time for the 2014-15 school year, VVSD is working hard to align its math curriculum to the standards this fall. “Everybody here is really forward-thinking. The energy and background everybody brings gives us a good, solid group of individuals who are ready to forge forward.”

Bobak, who says it feels like she is “always in school taking classes, wanting to learn more,” is pursuing her Doctorate in the University of Illinois at Chicago Urban School Leadership Program. She holds a Master’s Degree in curriculum and instruction from Loyola University and a Bachelor’s Degree in sociology from UIC.

Her original plan was to go into nutrition. However, those dreams soon changed and she enrolled in UIC’s School of Art and Design because “art (primarily ceramics) is always something I did from a very young age.”

Not happy with that, Bobak turned to sociology and, as fate would have it, as she was nearing completion of her degree, a co-worker at her part time job told her about an open science teacher position at St. Joseph School in Chicago. She took it and never looked back.

Her path to Valley View included stops at Truman College’s alternative high school as an art, social science and PE teacher; at the Day School working in the areas of art therapy, social services and crisis intervention; at Stewart Elementary School as the K-8 science coordinator; and the Chicago Public Schools’ Area 2 where she was Curriculum and Instruction Coach for science and math.

“I have a passion for this. Everything happens for a reason,” Bobak said. “I’m coming in with a fresh outlook on things and an open mind.

“This is an exciting time,” she added. “We’re really forging ahead in the areas of math and science. We’ve got to seize the day and take it to the next level.”