NILES — Niles Community Schools today announced the hiring of two new administrators to serve the district in the 2018-19 school year. Jeron Blood has been named Ballard Elementary principal, and Jennifer Shabazz has been hired as principal of Northside Child Development Center.

“We are excited to add Mr. Blood and Mrs. Shabazz to the Niles Community Schools family,” said NCS Superintendent Dan Applegate. “Both Jeron and Jennifer are seasoned educators with quality leadership experience, and I look forward to seeing all they bring to students of our district.”

Blood takes the place of former Ballard Elementary School principal Robin Hadrick, who accepted a job in Cass County with Ross Beatty Jr.-Sr. High School. 

Prior to his new role, Blood served as assistant principal, then associate principal at Edison Middle School in the Unit Four School District of Champaign, Illinois from 2014 to 2018. He had been with the district since 2010, when he served as a special education teacher within the functional life skills program at Unit Four District’s Centennial High School.

“I look forward to working collaboratively with the Ballard Elementary teachers and staff, and contributing to a positive, welcoming, learning environment for all,” said Blood. “I am excited to have relocated my family to Michigan, and we are ready to fully immerse ourselves in the Niles community.”

Shabazz replaces former Northside principal David Eichenberg. Eichenberg relocated to another state to be closer to family. 

Shabazz joins the NCS team from South Bend Community School Corporation, where, most recently, she spent one year as an assistant principal at Brown Intermediate Center. Prior to serving as assistant principal, she spent eight years as an elementary school teacher at Marquette Primary Montessori Academy and two years as a Montessori facilitator at the Marquette and Brown Intermediate Centers.

“I look forward to applying my background in elementary education, Montessori teaching and administration, in order to best support the needs of teachers, staff and families,” Shabazz said. “I can’t wait to meet the children and families of Northside.”

Blood has his bachelor’s degree in special education and a master’s degree in educational administration and leadership from the University of Illinois-Champaign. Shabazz has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Western Michigan University, a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Phoenix and an administrative degree from Indiana Wesleyan University. She is certified in lower and upper elementary Montessori from the American Montessori Society, and she is currently working toward her doctorate degree in organizational leadership from Indiana Wesleyan University.