Three professionals will join the Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205 this month.

The School District approved at its Monday, June 30 meeting the hiring of Brad Hillman as the new Bryan Middle School principal, Melissa Couch as the Churchville Middle School assistant principal and Maria Martinez-Valiukenas as its English Language Learners/social studies coordinator. All three will begin work by Monday, July 7.

“I’m very, very happy to be a part of a very established school district like Elmhurst,” said the 36-year-old Hillman. “I consider it to be a great place to start being a principal. ... I enjoy the leadership aspect that takes place in the school — working together with other professionals to create a good environment for students.”

Hillman will leave his position as an assistant principal of a middle school in Naperville to begin at Bryan, district spokeswoman Karen Geddeis said. Hillman has previously served as dean of students at Plainfield District 202 and as a teacher in Naperville. Hillman comes to Bryan with a master’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a bachelor’s degree from North Central College.

Hillman said he believes he brings a student-centered approach to education, along with experience from his previous positions.

“I’m very, very excited about starting this new position and getting to know all of the parents and students,” Hillman said. “I’ve heard wonderful things about the community and parents and students, and I can’t wait to get started.”

Geddeis said more than 70 people applied for the position, and four finalists participated in group interviews with parents, staff and administrators.

Couch has spent the last eight years working at McClure Junior High in Western Springs, Geddeis said, and the Churchville position will be her first administrative one. She has a master’s degree from Aurora University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Martinez-Valiukenas has formerly served as a principal, assistant principal and lead bilingual teacher in other districts, Geddeis said. She holds a master’s degree in education from Roosevelt University and a bachelor’s degree from Loyola University Chicago; she is working on her doctorate. She also will oversee the social studies curriculum, Geddeis said.

Lisa Smith, assistant superintendent for human resources, said the hiring process effectively seeks out worthy candidates.

“The goal of our administrative selection process is to identify educational leaders who will not only meet the needs of an individual school but the needs of the district as a whole,” Smith said.