LM Nov-Dec_2023

Congratulations! of Kankakee SD #111, Three Rivers Region of theYear

By Jason Nevel, IASA Director of Communications

Dr. Genevra Walters, superintendent of Kankakee SD #111, was named the 2024 Illinois Superintendent of the Year by the Illinois Association of School Administrators. An independent panel selected Dr. Walters for Illinois Superintendent of the Year based on innovative approaches the district has taken to best serve a diverse student population. IASA spoke with Dr. Walters about how she reimagined what public education looks like in Kankakee SD #111. Tell us about your school district. Kankakee is located about an hour south of Chicago. We are considered a high minority, high poverty district. About 48 percent of our students are African-American, 30 percent are Hispanic, and about 16 percent are white. Why was it important for you to rethink public education when you were hired as superintendent nine years ago? I knew we needed to reframe or rethink what public education looked like in Kankakee because students are not learning the way I learned 40 years ago. I felt like to truly support all of our students—regardless of their abilities, disabilities or their background—we needed to create a system that was more flexible and took into consideration the needs of all students. One of the ways your district reimagined public education was through Competency Based Education. I came in thinking our big “hedgehog” concept would be student engagement, and then I was introduced to the opportunity to apply for the Competency-Based Education pilot in 2017. I decided it fit into student engagement because it focuses on students taking ownership of their learning.

Competency-Based Education is about creating an environment or opportunities for students to show their competency in a particular skill or a subject matter. The best example that I can give is: I can read a map, and I can take a test on the map, but can I use the map to get to Detroit? Students have multiple ways of showing their competency other than paper, pencil, and taking tests. The other thing about competency-based education is it takes away the location and takes away the seat time. Learning can genuinely happen anywhere, anytime. What is the Youth Empowerment Program and what impact has it had on your district and community? The Youth Empowerment Program is a partnership with several organizations in our community, including the State’s Attorney’s Office, the city of Kankakee, and the Regional Office of Education. The goal of Youth Empowerment is to solve problems in our community that are specifically related to our youth.

5 LM Holidays 2023 continued...