Prussing principal will not seek another contract, plans to leave at the end of school year after 20 years at the helm

by BRIAN NADIG

Longtime Prussing School principal Lloyd Ehrenberg has announced that he will not be seeking another 4-year principal’s contract when his term expires in June.

Lloyd, who became principal of Prussing in 1995, said that he is not ready to retire and plans to explore other opportunities. “I have a number of options to exercise,” he said in an interview.

Ehrenberg informed the Prussing School Local School Council of his decision at end of the council’s Nov. 18 meeting. His announcement came as a surprise to council members, said LSC chairwoman Michele Taylor.

Ehrenberg said that he plans to formally inform the school system of his decision in April. The LSC cannot start its principal search until that time.

Ehrenberg said that during his tenure Prussing has transformed from a school that relied on overflow students from overcrowded schools to stay open to a school which itself is now overcrowded due to a high local enrollment. Prussing recently received a six-classroom mobile unit.

Prussing is a “Level 1” performing school, the highest rating that the Chicago Public Schools awards. “From when I arrived at the school, it is now a better school, academically and structurally,” Ehrenberg said.

A product of Hibbard Elementary School and Roosevelt High School, Ehrenberg served in the U.S. Navy from 1960 to 1964 before attending Western Connecticut University. In 2004, he received a doctorate in school administration and school policy.