Dr. Bridget E. Belcastro

Johnsburg Elementary School
Johnsburg School District 12
Johnsburg, Illinois
[email protected]

Bridget Belcastro has spent the last nine years of her 17-year administrative career as principal of Johnsburg Elementary, a 3-5 school, where she has cemented her legacy as a creative and strategic problem-solver capable of unifying school stakeholders around a shared vision for student success. Belcastro identified early in her tenure that the Johnsburg’s SEL program was unable to achieve its desired results. Rather than abandon a framework she believed had the potential to build a more supportive and inclusive environment, Belcastro redoubled efforts in this area by replacing a 30-minute, weekly instruction block with daily SEL modules. Now, through these 15-minute, multimodal learning blocks, SEL is seamlessly integrated into students’ daily lives, and the positive benefits are felt throughout the fabric of the school. Similarly, Johnsburg had also struggled for years to establish an effective PLC model that could sustain long-term growth. After years of persistent advocacy with her district, Belcastro relaunched PLCs with the goal of identifying root causes of underperformance and articulating clear and measurable objectives for addressing them. Now, as she puts it, Johnsburg PLCs are defined by a culture of inquiry, “integrating practical implementation strategies with theoretical insights to foster a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.” Belcastro holds B.A. and Ed.S. degrees from Northern Illinois University, an M.A. in Education from North Central College, and an Ed.D. from Loyola University.