Benjamin Dist. 25 tabs Elmhurst educator as new superintendent

An Elmhurst school administrator, James Woell, has been named superintendent of Benjamin Elementary District 25 serving Carol Stream and unincorporated areas near West Chicago.

Woell is assistant superintendent for human resources in Elmhurst Unit District 205 and previously served as principal of Attea Middle School in Glenview and as an assistant principal in Arlington Heights, Palatine and Northbrook.

He will replace Philip Ehrhardt, who is retiring at the end of June after 11 years at the helm of the district that serves roughly 650 preschool through eighth-grade students in two schools. Woell will start work July 1.

"Working in a district where children come first and there is such a supportive community is incredibly exciting for me," Woell said in a written statement.

Details of his contract were not immediately available, and neither Woell nor school board President Vince Engstrom was immediately available for comment.

But in a written statement, Engstrom said Woell's "experience, skills and his accomplishments are noteworthy and will enable him to move the district to higher levels of excellence."