18227 LM Nov-Dec 2018

Illinois Superintendent

of the Year

“He’s been a huge asset for this district and been responsible for a lot of great things for kids and faculty,” said Trenton Waller, a school board member in DuQuoin. Southern IllinoisNative Kelly grew up in Sesser, a town of about 1,900 people in Franklin County. He describes himself as the product of a one-parent family because his father passed away when he was in kindergarten. “My mother was my hero,” he said. “I was in kindergarten and I have two brothers, one who was in sixth grade and one that was just over 1-month old, when our father passed away. My mother, grandparents, uncles and aunts had a profound effect on me, which taught me an appreciation of others, the

Kelly ... cont’d.

Accomplishments DuQuoin CUSD #300 is located in Perry County in southern Illinois. The district serves about 1,500 students, nearly 60 percent of whom are eligible for free and reduced lunch. In the two decades that Kelly has been at the helm, the district has passed two referendums to finance facility improvements, including building two new schools. The reason both referendums passed is simple, according to Mathis. “People in this community believe in (Kelly),” she said. In addition to building improvements,

ability to never quit and to do my best regardless of the circumstances.” The importance of an education was instilled in him early on from his mother, Kelly said. He was also fortunate to have several family members who were educators, a main factor that compelled him to enter the field.

DuQuoin has continued to increase curriculum, programming and extra-curricular principal and teacher evaluation tools during Kelly’s tenure. For the past six years at the elementary level, DuQuoin has implemented a blended offerings, and modernized its

Kelly studied at Rend Lake College and the

University of Illinois in Champaign. His first teaching job was at Mt. Carmel High School, where he also coached football and basketball. He eventually became a principal in North Wayne CUSD #200 in Cisne before moving to DuQuoin in 1993, where he worked as principal and assistant superintendent before taking the top job in 1997. “I’ve got students whose parents were at the high school when I was principal,” Kelly said. “That shows you how long I’ve been here.” Great Staff andStudents Kelly is quick to credit his staff, board of education and students for any success he’s had in DuQuoin. He is humbled and appreciative of being named 2019 Illinois Superintendent of the Year. “This award is about the work of people in my school district, specifically our administrators, faculty and staff who work hard every day to provide the best for our students,” he said. “It is about having great students in our school district. It is about the work of my colleagues who I have been fortunate

and supported classroom model in grades kindergarten through fourth. The program places students identified as at-risk for learning in designated classrooms with a teacher and instructional aide who modify instruction and match teaching strategies to individual student learning needs. The structure lends itself to designating staffing resources to students with the greatest learning needs, Kelly said. “Making a positive impact on each and every student is what I’ve been devoted to,” he said. Social-emotional growth is also important for Kelly in DuQuoin. This school year, the district embarked on a trauma-informed plan for each school in the district. As is the case for any superintendent, one of the main priorities is being fiscally responsible, a box Kelly has checked. Through years of pro-ration in state funding, the DuQuoin School District never cut academic or extra-curricular programs, nor have any staff received reduction-in-force notices.

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