Ms. Elisa Palmer is excited to join the Cornell Grade School community as superintendent and principal starting July 1, 2025. Ms Palmer is currently the principal at Kingsley Junior High School, where she leads and serves 80 staff members and 700 students.
Ms. Palmer began her career in education in 1995 teaching high school science, which she taught for ten years. In 2005, she became the secondary education coordinator at Illinois State University. She remained in that position until 2013, when she became the student teaching assessment coordinator at Illinois State University. In 2018, Ms. Palmer returned to secondary education as an assistant principal at Normal West High School. In 2020, she became the associate principal at Chiddix Middle School and, in 2022, she became the principal of Kingsley Junior High School.
Ms. Palmer has a bachelor’s degree in biology education from Olivet Nazarene University and a master’s degree in educational administration from Illinois State University. She is currently working on her doctorate in educational administration at Illinois State University. Ms. Palmer is licensed both as a superintendent and chief school business official by the state of Illinois.
Born and raised in Wisconsin, Ms. Palmer now resides in Normal, IL with her college age daughter and her rambunctious terrier mix, Bailey. When not working, Ms. Palmer enjoys spending time with friends and family, watching sporting events, reading, swimming, cycling, and walking Bailey. Her favorite place to be on earth is anywhere with mountains and she is hopelessly addicted to overpriced coffee.
This is not Ms. Palmer’s first experience with Cornell Grade School. In 2017, Ms. Palmer completed an internship at Cornell Grade School as part of her superintendent licensure program. “I’m excited to be coming back to Cornell as the superintendent and principal. It is an honor to be chosen to lead and serve in a community so dedicated to the education of their children. I believe that education changes lives and am looking forward to becoming part of this outstanding educational community”, said Ms. Palmer.