May LM 2024_1

Education Elevat g

We continue our series highlighting tremendous educators across Illinois who have given their time and energy to ele vating the superintendency and public education as a whole. Each month, we will feature two educators who are going the extra mile and truly making a difference beyond their school districts and local communities. While we are aware of many of the contributions administrators are making, we are open to any suggestions for some one to feature next month. To make a recommendation, contact Jason Nevel, IASA Director of Communications, at jnevel@iasaedu.org or by calling 217–753–2213. Dr. Adrian Talley Indian Prairie CUSD # 204 Jami Hodge Williamson Cty. Sp. Ed. Coop. # 3

Who: Dr. Adrian Talley, superintendent What: Applied for grant funding to open mental health clinics in schools, which has provided another level of support to students, families and community members; Helped develop the district’s first Strategic Plan; Oversaw the creation of an Equity Plan. Where: Indian Prairie CUSD #204, DuPage Region

Who: Jami Hodge, Special Education Director What: Championed special education students receiving services and supports at home districts; Established strong relationships with leaders of member school districts; Member of Vision 2030 Workgroup; Past President of IAASE; Appointed to Illinois Gender Equity Advisory Committee

Where: Williamson Cty. Sp. Ed. Coop. #3 (WCSED), Shawnee Region When: Special Education Director of WCSED for 10 years Why: Williamson County students in need of special education services don’t have to travel far to receive support. Since becoming Special Education Director for the education cooperative in southern Illinois, Jami Hodge has championed more satellite programs where students stay in their home district and in their home school. “Students don’t have to ask why am I different and have to go somewhere else,” said Hodge about the benefits of staying in their district. “That question is removed from them, and it helps create more of a sense of belonging.” WCSED is a centralized special education cooperative that provides all special education programming and an array of related services to the five county school districts: Johnston

When: Superintendent of Indian Prairie CUSD #204 for four years. Why: If a student is not in the right place socially and emotionally, it is difficult for learning to occur. “That’s why we have focused so much on mental health at Indian Prairie,” Dr. Adrian Talley said. “Our students told us they needed this. We’ve been able to secure close to $3 million in grant funding to create mental health clinics, which have eliminated barriers and cost issues.” Under Dr. Talley’s leadership, Indian Prairie CUSD #204 has become a model for many districts concerning mental health care of students, particularly in its CARES Clinics. The district applied for and was awarded grants through the Endeavor Health, formerly Edward-Elmhurst, Community Investment Fund and the Illinois Department of Public Health to start up the clinics.

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LM May 2024