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Education to the heart transplant waiting list. She held on and, four days later, Dr. Benway not only received a new heart, but also a new perspective and appreciation for life. “What happened to me certainly changed me, and I’m a much better superintendent because of it,” Dr. Benway said. Benway ... cont’d. Elevat g

Price ... cont’d. adopted a new social-emotional learning curriculum and added more college and career exploration programs.” Increased financial support from the state has also improved the district’s finances to the point where North Chicago SD #187 has received a four out of four score on ISBE’s Financial Report Card the past five years. To help policymakers understand the impact of a state takeover, Dr. Price researched the topic for his dissertation. His findings have provided valuable insights on what works well and what areas can be improved. “In North Chicago what worked well was improving governance and finance,” Dr. Price said. “The aspect that did not go as well was family and community engagement and curriculum development. If you can have the same level of support and guidance that is provided on the fiscal side to the curriculum and instruction side, the outcomes can be even better.” Under Dr. Price’s leadership, the teacher retention rate improved from 60 to 80 percent. Dr. Price credits changes in the interview process and unique partnerships with Golden Apple and National Louis University. The district hopes to improve teacher retention even more thanks to a new partnership with Teach for America. North Chicago SD #187 is the first Illinois district outside of Chicago Public Schools to partner with the organization. “We want to find people who share our mission and equity focus,” Dr. Price said. “Hiring better at the front door makes sure there are fewer people walking out the back door each year.” There is much more work to be done, but the community takes pride in the progress made since 2012.

In addition to IASA’s 57th Annual Conference in September, Dr. Benway has shared her story to educators in hopes it will inspire them to keep pushing forward, take care of themselves and be mindful of stress. She also has used the opportunity to encourage her peers to become organ donors. “I hope by seeing and hearing my story that maybe they will think about it,” Dr. Benway said. “It truly saves lives.” In her 15 years as superintendent of O’Fallon Twp HSD #203, Dr. Benway has also helped foster a culture that has resulted in a high-achieving academic district despite low cost per pupil spending. Fifty-three percent of O’Fallon Twp HSD #203 students were proficient on the SAT exam in 2019, higher than the state average of 37 percent. O’Fallon’s Adequacy Score in the EBF model is 63 percent. “Dollars are important, but our success story is about having the right people in the right places to make things happen,” Dr. Benway said. “It’s not a magic bullet. It’s the coming together of a group of people around a common cause who are so dedicated to that cause that we achieve great success together.”

Got Great School Videos? Send your school videos with a short description to jnevel@iasaedu.org. We want to highlight what’s going on in your school districts on our magazine’s Videos from the Districts page.

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21 LM Nov./Dec. 2021