Following a national search, Countryside School's Board of Directors has appointed Krystal Young as the new Head of School beginning in July.

Mrs. Young brings an impressive level of leadership to Countryside School. She served as our interim head since January 2020. She distinguished herself in a talented candidate pool through her educational and professional credentials, compelling community support, and her successful leadership of the school’s operations throughout the pandemic. She passionately believes that Countryside’s mission, Joy in Learning and Excellence in Education, is to be lived out, and that the Head of School must be the guiding hand of that mission.

Mrs. Young holds a B.A. in English literature and M.Ed. with a focus on Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.  Prior to serving as Countryside’s Interim Head, Mrs. Young taught in several Champaign Unit 4 schools and was a co-founder and managing partner of Codagami, a Champaign-based technology company with a world-wide reach.

In addition to serving as our Interim Head, Mrs. Young has served on the Board of Directors and chaired our parent organization (Countryside School Association). She and her husband Jeff are the parents of three Countryside middle schoolers.

Mrs. Young will continue as Interim Head of Administration through the end of June, serving with Chris Antonsen (Interim Head of Middle School) and Stacy Kirby (Interim Head of Elementary School), after which Countryside will return to the model of a single Head of School.