Kids at Heart of Kitty Murphy's Career

For Kitty Murphy, Monday night was probably an evening of some significance. Murphy the assistant superintendent for student services and special education at was scheduled to attend her last school board meeting.

At least the last meeting she was required to attend.

From now on her Monday evenings will be free. After working with the district for nearly 32 years, Murphy is retiring. She will be working for District 203 until June 30, after which she will spend a month traveling and relaxing before deciding what’s next.

“I want to thank the community,” Murphy said in a recent interview at her office. “It’s been a tremendous opportunity.”

She started at the district in 1979, but was away temporarily. She’s been with the district consistently since 1984, she said.

When she started her career as a junior high school teacher she never imagined she would end up working in school administration.

“I saw myself teaching teachers, which I have done, but I never saw myself in administration,” she said.

She originally began her career working in the insurance industry for Aetna, but went back to school at Northern Illinois University earning a master’s degree in education and special education. Later she went back to study administration.

Murphy said she has been fortunate to see education from many different perspectives over the years. She has worked at the district as a teacher, a principal and in her current role as an assistant superintendent.

Regardless of her role in the district, the focus was “always about the kids,” she said.

Over the years Murphy has seen many changes from those involving technology, which she said has changed the face of education, to the inclusion of the community, as with the district’s School Business Partnerships and School Family Community Partnerships.

“We went from this slow farming community to this extremely diverse, complex community in Naperville,” Murphy said.

Some of the initiatives that she’s proud to have been involved with include instituting the Special Olympics program, instituting the Bridge program, an alternative to expulsion for students, and participating in the planning and building of the district’s .

When Murphy started working in special education it was not long after federal laws were passed requiring students with special needs be educated in their own communities.

Initially, she said no one seemed to know how the system should work under the new laws. It was a “free for all” and then it became process oriented.

Things changed again n 2004 with updates to the law, she said, adding that now students receive interventions when they have problems rather than waiting for them to fail.

“We’ve seen increases in achievement and employment,” Murphy said.

One of the challenges she faced, and which is still unresolved, is the number of students with mental health issues in the district.

 “That is not something we can't fix,” she said, adding that there are greater numbers of students with such issues than in the past.

“I have had a great career, but there is a lot of work left to do. How do we impact the kids with emotional/behavioral problems? What can we do differently along the way from the time they are children to when they are in high school? … They are with us so much, for us in this department it is a struggle.”

Murphy said she isn’t sure what she will do next. She is on the board at the and will continue her involvement. She may continue to work in the education field or possibly venture into politics, she said.

“I think I will have to wait and see,” Murphy said. “The last time I wasn’t busy was 1980 and then I had two kids.”

Murphy said she enjoyed her career with the district and learned a lot about the community and built many relationships through her involvement. She maintained her focus, however, on the heart of her career.

“What’s better than working with kids,” she said. “They are young and innocent and to have an impact on that, what can be better? What other career is like that?”

According to District 203, some of the roles and awards Kitty Murphy has been recognized with over her 32 years include:

• Supervising the Ann Reid Early Childhood facility opening in 2010.
• Developing the Naperville Bridge Alternative Program.
• Chairing Parent University for six years.
• Co-chairing the Flex West Consortium.
• Initiating the Special Olympics team in District 203.
• Serving on the District SFCP, HURRAH and NEF committees.
• Serving on numerous community boards including Teen-Parent Connection, the United Way, the YMCA and the Naper Heritage Society.
• She received the prestigious “Making a Difference Award” last November and is the recipient of multiple state and District 203 “Those Who Excel” awards. 
• She has been awarded four Naperville Education Foundation grants.