The Collinsville Community Unit School District #10 Board of Education approved on May 12 the transfer of Caseyville Elementary School Principal Chelsea Clark to the position of district Pre-K coordinator, effective July 2026.
Clark will oversee the district’s pre-kindergarten and early childhood programs starting in the 2026-27 school year. She will succeed Christine Coleman, who is retiring at the end of the 2025-26 school year. Superintendent Dr. Mark B. Skertich said, “Mrs. Clark is highly organized and deeply committed to our students and community. Her leadership will ensure our 3- and 4-year-old learners begin their academic journey on the right track as she oversees the Pre-K grant and builds strong family connections.” Skertich also said, “We are certain the Unit 10 Pre-K program will continue to expand and succeed under Mrs. Clark’s direction.”
Clark said she looks forward to her new role: “I absolutely LOVE Caseyville Elementary,” she says, “but I am excited to work out of multiple buildings within the district and support our youngest learners.”
A graduate of Collinsville High School in 2003, Clark holds a bachelor’s degree in early childhood and early childhood special education from St. Louis University as well as a master’s degree in education administration from Lindenwood University. She later earned special education director and superintendent endorsements from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
She began her career in education as a special education teacher in Missouri before moving to Highland Community Unit School District #5 in Illinois, then returning to Collinsville schools as a teacher before becoming principal at Caseyville Elementary School in 2018.
Clark said, “With a foundation in early childhood and special education, I believe every child deserves access to a supportive environment where their individual strengths are recognized and nurtured.” She added that educators play an important role: “Early learning experiences are critical in shaping not only academic success, but also social-emotional development, and educators play a vital role in fostering both.”
Curriculum Director LaToya Berry-Coleman said about Clark: “Mrs. Clark’s passion for early childhood education and her collaborative leadership style make her an excellent choice for this role,” adding confidence that she would positively impact pre-kindergarten programs.
Collinsville Community Unit School District #10 serves grades pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade across Madison and St. Clair counties with schools including Caseyville Elementary School among others; it enrolled over six thousand students during the most recent reported years according to the Illinois State Board of Education. The district spent $16,872 per student with total expenditures exceeding $104 million during one recent year according to Illinois Report Card.
The district’s teaching staff consists of more than four hundred teachers earning an average salary above $60,000; eighty-one percent are women while nineteen percent are men according to Illinois Report Card. The student population is diverse: fifty-six percent White, fourteen percent Black, twenty-four percent Hispanic, with smaller percentages representing other groups according to ISBE.
Looking ahead at her new responsibilities coordinating early learning programs throughout several schools within Collinsville CUSD #10—where chronic truancy rates remain below state averages—Clark said she values collaboration among teachers, families, and communities: “My experience in educational leadership reinforces the importance of collaboration among teachers, families and communities… Effective schools are built on strong relationships… I am proud to help prepare the future generation of Kahoks for success in their educational journey.”
