Batavia Public Schools has selected two new elementary-school principals for the next school year.

Jeff Modaff will become principal of Grace McWayne School and Nicole Prentiss will become principal of J.B. Nelson School. The schools' current principals, Kevin Skomer and Melissa Kaczkowski, were transferred within the district.

The Batavia School Board on Tuesday voted to approve Modaff and Prentiss' employment. Modaff's annual salary will be $102,500, and Prentiss' annual salary will be $95,000, according to the School Board's Tuesday meeting packet.

Modaff is currently the principal of the Brokaw Early Learning Center in Oswego. Prentiss is currently the assistant principal of Nicholas A. Hermes Elementary School in Aurora.

Modaff and Prentiss both have classroom teaching experience, according to their bios. More information on them is available at the bottom of this story.

These latest hires complete a recent string of transfers and changes with the Batavia elementary school principal lineup. Four of the six elementary schools will have different principals next year. The changes were made so the district can prepare for new state and federal mandates that begin next school year.

The full list of changes is as follows:

• Cynthia Sikorski, H.C. Storm School principal, will become the district's Assistant Director of Curriculum and Instruction.
• Dr. Kristine Webster, Louise White School principal, will move to fill Sikorski’s spot at H.C. Storm.
• Kevin Skomer, Grace McWayne School principal, will take Webster’s place at Louise White.
• Jeff Modaff will take Skomer's place at Grace McWayne.
• Lisa Palese, assistant district director of student services, will become the Student Services Coordinator at Rotolo Middle School.
• Melissa Kaczkowski, J.B. Nelson School principal, will take Palese’s place in the district’s main office.
• Nicole Prentiss will take Kaczkowski's place at J.B. Nelson.

All of the changes listed above go into effect July 1, 2012.

Here is the biographical information provided by the district for both Modaff and Prentiss:

Jeff Modaff

Jeff Modaff was approved as principal of Grade McWayne School effective July 1, 2012. He is currently the principal of Brokaw Early Learning Center in Oswego, a position he has held for the past three years.

Modaff grew up in Wheaton and currently lives in Oswego with his wife, Jen, and two children. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Education from the University of Illinois, and upon graduating, started his teaching career in the Indian Prairie School District. He enjoyed his time teaching fifth and third grade at Brookdale Elementary School while pursuing a Master’s Degree in Administration from Benedictine University.  

After completing his certification, he served in elementary school administrative positions in Indian Prairie School District 204 and Oswego School District 308. On the weekends, Jeff tackles home improvement projects and spends time outdoors with his family.

Jeff is excited to soon be contributing to the excellence that is Batavia School District 101.

Nicole Prentiss

Nicole Prentiss was approved as principal of J.B. Nelson School beginning July 1, 2012. She is in her second year as Assistant Principal of Nicholas A. Hermes Elementary School in Aurora East School District #131. 

Nicole Prentiss and her husband, David, reside in David's hometown of St. Charles, with their son.

She is honored to be joining Batavia’s educational team, and is excited to start working with the staff, students and parents at J.B. Nelson Elementary School.

As a California native, Nichole received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre Arts from San Jose State University. She continued her education at the graduate level and received her Multiple Subject Crosscultural Language and Academic Development (CLAD) elementary teaching certification at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. Her ten years of teaching experience include ESL and mainstream kindergarten through third grade. 

Mrs. Prentiss earned her Master's Degree in Educational Leadership from Saint Francis University in 2007.

To read our last full story on the Batavia principal changes, click here.