LM May 2023

Education Elevat g

Doerr ... cont’d.

Rouse ... cont’d. Dr. Rouse facilitated extensive training for her leadership team, school board and teachers around diversity, equity and inclusion. The efforts have resulted in a significant drop in exclusionary practices, an increased focus on removing implicit bias and a shift to make the staff of Joliet PSD #86 be a better reflection of the students it serves. “We want our students to see role models in the buildings who look like them,” she said. Dr. Rouse has also invested resources and shifted the district to more research-based practices to better support bilingual students. About two-thirds of students in Joliet PSD #86 are Hispanic or Latinx. Under her leadership, Joliet PSD #86 will be building two new junior high schools, constructing an addition to an elementary school and completing security and technology upgrades districtwide thanks to the recent passage of a $99.5 million referendum. In addition, Dr. Rouse has been a fervent supporter of the district’s fine arts program, which includes roughly 2,000 students and has a rich tradition dating back to the beginning of the 20th century. In fact, the district has the second oldest elementary school band program in the country, forming in 1912. “We have an amazing fine arts program that grows every year,” Dr. Rouse said. “We play at community functions and even formed a Mariachi band that played at the Illinois Music Education Conference this past February.” Outside of Joliet PSD #86, Dr. Rouse is a longtime member of the National Superintendents Roundtable, a think tank of about 150 education leaders nationwide who discuss education topics and share best practices. She also serves on various boards and committees and joined a group of 17 superintendents who wrote stories on leadership in Education Week during the pandemic. A major focus of her articles was on the importance of superintendents supporting one another, taking care of themselves and encouraging administrators to pursue the top leadership role. “I always believe that veteran superintendents need to pay it forward and bring up the next level so there is no vacuum behind us,” Dr. Rouse said.

again,” Dr. Doerr said. “Our hope is to make recommendations that make the IWAS portal more user-friendly and easier for administrators to access and input the data that is required.” As superintendent of Nokomis CUSD #22, Dr. Doerr is proud to oversee a unique Advocacy and Senior Seminar program. Starting freshman year, students in Nokomis meet daily in classes for about 30 minutes to learn about topics such as character education and career exploration. Throughout this process, they conduct research, talk with teachers, and interview professionals in the field they wish to enter after high school. This also gives them an opportunity to build soft skills and research post-secondary education plans. This research allows them to make informed decisions about their future, such as job responsibilities, salary, and expectations in the workforce or college graduation requirements. When students are seniors, as a culminating activity and graduation requirement, they have to deliver a 15-minute presentation to a community group about their post-secondary plans. The group evaluates their plan, provides feedback, and determines if they have met the criteria of the class. “By the time each student graduates, he or she has done significant research on whether or not they want to pursue college, enter the military, or enter the job market,” Dr. Doerr said. “We think students leave Nokomis more prepared as a result of these classes.” Dr. Doerr has also been instrumental in the development of an educator pipeline program via the Montgomery County Vocational Consortium. Students in the consortium can take up to four dual-credit classes through Lincoln Land Community College and earn up to 13 semester hours to become an elementary, middle school, or high school teacher. This opportunity also provides them with the knowledge, expectations, and experience to move into the field of education. Students are required to complete coursework as required by the college, but also conduct 30 hours of field experience each semester to work with teacher mentors to experience the requirements of lesson planning, instructional delivery, classroom management, and technology implementation. Twenty-four students participated last year and 43 students will be in the pipeline program in the 2023–24 school year. “The teacher shortage continues to be a significant hardship on school districts, so this program is a way for schools in Montgomery and the surrounding region to encourage students to join teacher ed programs and later become qualified teachers,” Dr. Doerr said.

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LM May 2023