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8
Accomplishments
DuQuoin CUSD #300 is located in Perry County in
southern Illinois. The district serves about 1,500 students,
nearly 60 percent of whom are eligible for free and
reduced lunch.
In the two decades that Kelly has been at the helm,
the district has passed two referendums to finance
facility improvements, including building two new schools.
The reason both referendums passed is simple, according
to Mathis. “People in this community believe in (Kelly),”
she said.
In addition to building
improvements,
DuQuoin has continued
to increase curriculum,
programming and
extra-curricular
offerings, and
modernized its
principal and teacher
evaluation tools during
Kelly’s tenure.
For the past six years
at the elementary
level, DuQuoin has
implemented a blended
and supported classroom model in grades kindergarten
through fourth. The program places students identified as
at-risk for learning in designated classrooms with a teacher
and instructional aide who modify instruction and match
teaching strategies to individual student learning needs.
The structure lends itself to designating staffing resources
to students with the greatest learning needs, Kelly said.
“Making a positive impact on each and every student is
what I’ve been devoted to,” he said.
Social-emotional growth is also important for Kelly in
DuQuoin. This school year, the district embarked on a
trauma-informed plan for each school in the district.
As is the case for any superintendent, one of the main
priorities is being fiscally responsible, a box Kelly has
checked. Through years of pro-ration in state funding,
the DuQuoin School District never cut academic or
extra-curricular programs, nor have any staff received
reduction-in-force notices.
“He’s been a huge asset for this district and been responsible
for a lot of great things for kids and faculty,” said Trenton
Waller, a school board member in DuQuoin.
Southern IllinoisNative
Kelly grew up in Sesser, a town of about 1,900 people in
Franklin County. He describes himself as the product of a
one-parent family because his father passed away when he
was in kindergarten.
“My mother was my hero,” he said. “I was in kindergarten
and I have two brothers, one who was in sixth grade and one
that was just over 1-month old, when our father passed away.
My mother, grandparents, uncles and aunts had a profound
effect on me, which taught me an appreciation of others, the
ability to never quit and to
do my best regardless of
the circumstances.”
The importance of an
education was instilled
in him early on from
his mother, Kelly said.
He was also fortunate
to have several family
members who were
educators, a main factor
that compelled him to
enter the field.
Kelly studied at Rend
Lake College and the
University of Illinois in Champaign. His first teaching job
was at Mt. Carmel High School, where he also coached
football and basketball. He eventually became a principal
in North Wayne CUSD #200 in Cisne before moving to
DuQuoin in 1993, where he worked as principal and assistant
superintendent before taking the top job in 1997.
“I’ve got students whose parents were at the high school
when I was principal,” Kelly said. “That shows you how long
I’ve been here.”
Great Staff andStudents
Kelly is quick to credit his staff, board of education and
students for any success he’s had in DuQuoin. He is humbled
and appreciative of being named 2019 Illinois Superintendent
of the Year.
“This award is about the work of people in my school district,
specifically our administrators, faculty and staff who work
hard every day to provide the best for our students,” he said.
“It is about having great students in our school district. It is
about the work of my colleagues who I have been fortunate
of the Year
Illinois Superintendent
Kelly
...
cont’d.