17
Servant leadership:
CIV superintendents serve meals at South Side Mission
Superintendents from the IASA Central Illinois
Valley (CIV) Region took a break from budget cuts,
unfunded mandates and the other challenges facing
public education to spend a recent Saturday (April
13) serving breakfast and lunch to residents of the
South Side Mission shelter in Peoria as their annual
Service Day project.
About 20 mothers and children were served
meals, and the 14 superintendents who participated
said it was a rewarding experience that reinforced the
reason they chose to become educators.
“We are all strengthened when we come together
to face challenges in our community, one of which is
poverty, which impacts children who attend our
schools throughout this area, state and nation,” said
Dr. Lindsey Hall, superintendent of Morton
Community Unit District 709. According to the most
recent statewide report card, 49 percent of Illinois
students are considered to be from low-income
families. “When school leaders give of their time,
even just a few hours, we form bonds and
relationships that give me a renewed sense of why I
do this in the first place.
“We are all servant leaders in some way, shape
or form,” Hall continued. “We are morally obligated to
give back in some way, outside of the context of our
jobs. The connections we make in our broader
community, in the end, also make all of our schools
better throughout our region. When we team together
to give back, we collectively make the world a better
place.”
Dr. John Asplund, superintendent of Farmington
Central Community Unit District 265, agreed that
servant leadership is an important part of being a
school and community leader. He also said teaming
with his colleagues was a good time.
“We were able to work collectively for a good
cause, which is always enjoyable. But we also got to
spend time getting to know each other better,
laughing and telling stories,” Asplund said. “We are
all members of the same community, geographically
and professionally. Our yearly service projects help
reinforce this concept and help remind us the most
effective leadership is servant leadership.
(Continued on page 18)
From left, Michelle Lee, Sally Masear, Lindsey Hall, and Paula Davis help prepare meals at the South Side Mission in
Peoria during the Central Illinois Valley Region’s Service day.
