DeKalb Community Unity School District 428 welcomes three administrators to new roles with the start of the 2023-2024 school year. Sherry Dority has been named principal of Tyler Elementary School, Ben Erickson was named Assistant Principal of Tyler Elementary School, and Amy Sayed begins this year as an assistant principal for Huntley Middle School.  

Sherry Dority, Principal at Tyler Elementary

Sherry Dority has been with the district since 2022 and was previously the assistant principal at Tyler Elementary. She began her role as principal on July 31, 2023. Dority earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Bradley University and has a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education and Curriculum from Chicago State and in Educational Leadership from the American College of Education. She is also a National Board Certified teacher in Reading and Language Arts. Dority worked for Chicago Public Schools as a teacher and assistant principal for 17 years and served several years in the south suburbs of Chicago in various educational roles. 

Dority believes that building strong and effective relationships with the families of the students is also an important goal that helps positively impact student achievement. “I am excited to begin my role as Principal of Tyler Elementary because I will be able to have a direct impact on student learning,” said Dority. “ Working together with teachers and students, our focus will be on setting goals to improve the educational environment and instructional content, which leads to improved learning outcomes for our school.”  

Ben Erickson, Assistant Principal at Tyler Elementary

Ben Erickson started his teaching career after graduation from Illinois State University in 2006 as a second-grade teacher in Bloomington, Ill. Erickson has been a fourth-grade teacher at Lincoln Elementary since 2018. Along with teaching, he also served on the curriculum council, English and Language Arts (ELA) curriculum team, School Improvement Team, Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Green and Yellow teams. He was also a Parent Teacher Association (PTA) representative, building mentor, and cooperating teacher. In 2021, Erickson was recognized with the Wirtz Award for Excellence in Education. He completed his M.S.Ed. in Educational Administration from Northern Illinois University. “I’m excited to become the Assistant Principal at Tyler Elementary and join a great team that is eager to make a positive impact this school year,” said Erickson. “I’m also very community-minded and look forward to establishing a strong relationship with the Tyler families. My wife and I have three daughters who attend three different schools in D428 (Lincoln, Huntley, and DHS). We love the DeKalb community and are glad to call it our home!”

Amy Sayed, Assistant Principal at Huntley Middle School

Amy Sayed earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and worked in the mental health industry prior to becoming an educator. Sayed went on to earn a degree in Secondary English Education from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and began her teaching career as a high school English teacher in the Milwaukee Public School district. Sayed also went on to earn a Master of Arts in Educational Leadership from Aurora University. She is now in her 19th year in education. This is Sayed’s third year working for DeKalb 428, where she served as an intern with the Huntley Middle School administration and as an eighth-grade English Language Arts teacher for the past two years. “I am extremely excited about my new path as an assistant principal for Huntley Middle School,” said Sayed. “I aspire to promote the district’s mission to meet the needs of all of our students, and I look forward to working with our families and developing lasting relationships. I also look forward to promoting staff growth and development while modeling teamwork and cooperation.”