a district superintendent Chicago Public Schools. She gave teachers in her district a role in decision-making on matters concerning them, the first practical application of the idea of teachers' councils, which she had written about in her University of Chicago thesis. This was a brand-new practice in education. Young was principal of the Chicago Normal School from 1905 until becoming appointed superintendent of Chicago Public Schools in 1909. Superintendency On July 30, 1909, the Chicago Board of Education voted to appoint Young Chicago Public Schools' superintendent. She took office on August 2. She was the first woman in America to head a large city school system. At the time, the school district had 290,000 enrolled students and owned property worth $50,000,000. It was said that no woman had ever held such an important public office in the United States before. With an annual salary of $10,000, she was paid more than any woman had ever been paid for a public service position. She was the school superintendent who during the 1911 spring break requested all schoolchildren in the Chicago area to organize neighborhood searches for five-year-old Elsie Paroubek, who had disappeared April 8 of that year. In 1913, Young tendered her resignation. After controversy arose, with protest against her departure being led by Jane Addams and others, she was reappointed to the position. Young permanently resigned from the position in 1915. Personal life and death In 1868, she married merchant William Young. They had no children together. William died in 1873. Young's mother died in 1862, and her brother died in 1868. Her father and brother both died within a year of her husband's death. This left her with no immediate relatives. She died in the 1918 flu pandemic, on October 26, 1918, in Washington, D.C., at the age of 73. She was the last remaining member of her family line. She left an estate valued at $60,000. On October 28, 1918, Chicago flew its flags at half-mast and draped the Chicago Board of Education's board room in black in recognition of Young's passing. Legacy The University of Illinois conferred on her the degree of LL.D. Eponymous school The Chicago Public School system named an elementary school (K-8) in honor of Dr. Young in 1924. The school is located in the north Austin neighborhood and continues to be used as an elementary school. The school is traditional masonry construction, with