Principal Jim Richter

I am honored and excited to serve as principal of St. Charles East High School. East is a standard for educational excellence, and it is my top priority to create opportunities for students that enable them to achieve success academically, extracurricularly, and personally.

St. Charles East is special for me personally because it is here that I began my teaching career. For over 18 years, I have seen our students grow and mature under the guidance of talented and dedicated staff members. 

My passion for St. Charles East is also rooted in my family life. My wife and four children often accompany me to sporting events, theater performances, and club/activity events. I am proud that they have witnessed the spirit of our students and the pride they take in being Saints.

It is imperative for families and high schools to form partnerships with the goal of supporting students as they strive to reach their goals. I look forward to working with you and encourage you to reach out to me at any time. I am committed to making your child’s high school experience the best it can possibly be!

Contact Principal Richter

Principal's Newsletter

Assistant Principals

Assistant Principal - Kim Kereluik

I am excited to serve the St. Charles East High School and District 303 community as the Assistant Principal of Student Services. In this position, my work will focus on supporting students’ academic and social-emotional needs through various interventions and programs that are available at East. I oversee and support students that may need additional academic and/or social-emotional support through various interventions by working with the Special Ed Department, school psychologists, social workers, student support specialists, and the student support assistance counselor.

I spent 11 years at East Aurora High School as a Special Education Coordinator and prior to that was a self-contained ED/BD teacher at a private therapeutic school and West Aurora High School.

I graduated from Roosevelt University with my BA in Special Education (2005), Concordia University with my MA in Educational Leadership (2010), and Concordia University with a MA in Curriculum and Instruction with a focus on Trauma and Resiliency (2022).

I am excited to work with the students, parents, teachers, and community members that are pivotal to East High’s success.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. Go Saints!

Contac Kim Kereluik 


Assistant Principal - Matt Jeffrey

I am excited to return to my alma mater, St. Charles East High School, and the District 303 Community as the Assistant Principal of Instructional Programs. The Office of Instructional Programs collaborates with the Principal in overseeing curriculum and assessment development, academic placement, and scheduling. The primary focus of our Instructional Programs Department places an emphasis on collaborating with our teacher leaders and staff to continue to enhance and improve the educational experiences of our students.

Prior to coming to St. Charles East, I most recently served as the Principal of Partners for Success (the DuPage Regional Office of Education Safe School 6th-12th grades). For over twenty years, I’ve been fortunate to serve in a variety of roles as an administrator at the High School, Middle School, and Elementary School levels. My educational career started here in District 303, where I taught Social Studies at Haines Middle School for six years, and coached wrestling and baseball at St. Charles High School, and then St. Charles East High School, before moving into school leadership.

I have a Bachelors of Science in Social Studies Secondary Education from Taylor University and two Master's Degrees, from Aurora University (one in Educational Leadership and another in Teaching with a focus in Curriculum and Instruction).

I am ecstatic to have the opportunity to return to St. Charles East High School. I am most looking forward to collaborating with the staff at East and building new relationships with students, parents, and community members to provide the best possible experience at St. Charles East High School. If there is anything that I can do to help support your student please don’t hesitate to contact me. Go Saints! ⚜️ 

Contact Matt Jeffrey

Assistant Principal - Lisa Dandre

Welcome to Student Life at St. Charles East High! The Student Life Department includes all clubs and activities, the building and operations, and the Dean’s Office. Our primary purpose is to encourage students to get involved and make positive, healthy choices while in high school. We organize recognition assemblies, dances, and service projects for the entire student body. We support our students by offering activities that promote the core values of service, leadership, and community as they strive for academic excellence. Each day we work to create a safe and secure environment that allows all students to reach their potential. We believe that students “don’t care how much we know, until they know how much we care”. Student Life cares!

I started teaching at St. Charles High School in 1993. I was a Business Education teacher for nineteen years and an Instructional Support Coach for four years. I was part of the Upstate 8 as a high school student - a Lake Park Lancer. I have a Bachelors of Science degree in Organizational Management from Elmhurst College and a Masters of Arts in Secondary Education from Roosevelt University. I completed my Administrator Certificate/Type 75 coursework at Aurora University. I am looking forward to another year as Assistant Principal for Student Life at St. Charles East High. It’s a special place to work! I value feedback and welcome new ideas. I can’t wait to learn and work with you and your son/daughter this year!

Thanks for taking the time to read about me and the Student Life Department. Remember, it’s always a great day to be a Saint!

Contact Lisa Dandre


Assistant Principal - Matt Gill

Education & Experience: I earned my Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1995 and my Master of Arts in Educational Administration from Governors State University in 2003. I have ten years of classroom experience as a social studies teacher at St. Rita (Chicago) and Wheaton-Warrenville South High Schools. I have twelve years of administrative experience as Dean of Students at Wheaton North and St. Charles East High Schools. I have been serving in my current role as Assistant Principal for College & Career Readiness since July 1, 2017.

Primary Focus: I work with the College & Career Readiness team to support our students with their academics, course planning, career exploration, college search and application process, post-high school career planning and social-emotional concerns. I also serve as the site coordinator for our AVID program and act as the administrative liaison to the Social Studies Department. Please visit our College & Career Readiness website under the Students tab for resources and information. 

Contact Matt Gill


Athletic Director

Athletic Director – Mike Sommerfeld

Welcome to St. Charles East High School Home of the Fighting Saints! St. Charles East Athletics has a storied tradition of excellence. I am proud to be here as a Saint leading the Athletic Department.

I graduated from Eastern Illinois University with a degree in History, and I earned my Master’s Degree in School Administration from Lewis University. 


I have been education for over 25 years, and have over 15+ years in Athletic Administration. I am very honored to serve our students and community and we hope we provide them with a great high school athletic experience.

GO SAINTS!

Contact Mike Sommerfeld

Deans

Dean of Students – Shawn Burke
Students (Han-Pat)

I started my career in education as a PE Teacher at Martino Jr. High in New Lenox, IL. While teaching, I worked on completing my Master’s Degree in Educational Administration from Northern Illinois University. After 7 years of teaching, I was given the opportunity to become the Assistant Principal/Dean of Students at Plano High School in Plano, IL before coming to St. Charles East as a Dean of Students. My goal is to help all students achieve their fullest potential, academically and socially, while navigating their high school careers.

Having been at St. Charles East since 2003, I have seen many changes in the culture and climate of our staff and students but the one thing that has never changed is the focus on our students’ success. This is truly a special place and as the saying goes – No matter where you go, the sun always rises in the East.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns about your student and I will do my best to help in any way I can.

Contact Shawn Burke



Dean of Students – TBA
Students (A – Ham)


Dean of Students – Eric Hofer
Students (Pau-Z)

I received a degree in Kinesiology from the University of Illinois at Chicago. From there, I went to work as an Elementary Physical Education teacher at Covington School in Oak Lawn for 11 years. During that time, I received my Master’s Degree in Administration from St. Xavier University. I left Covington school to become the Dean of Students at Morton East High School Freshman Center. I spent one year at the Freshman Center, which provided me outstanding training for my next job as Dean of Students at St. Charles East High School. I have been a dean at St. Charles East High School since the 2006-2007school year.

My goal is to make St. Charles East a safe and enjoyable place for all students. I work closely with the Social Workers and Counselors to help solve all student issues. Part of my job responsibilities is to administer discipline to students for infractions to the rules as stated in our Student Handbook. I do this by hearing all sides of the story and making a decision based on the facts, which I have found. The consequence for the students’ actions will be determined as outlined in the Handbook.

With a little assistance, our students do make outstanding decisions, making St. Charles East a wonderful school for our students to reach their academic goals.   

Contact Eric Hofer