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21Honored for their accomplishments toward better schools:
Dr. Darryl Taylor
Lincoln Elementary
School District 156
Cook South
• Attaining the state’s
highest financial
recognition every
year despite being a
tax-capped district
that receives less
than 25 percent of
its revenue from
property taxes.
Taylor and the
Board of Education
have won grants
to address needs
in technology,
infrastructure and
Qualified School
Construction Bonds to
cover HVAC needs.
• Lincoln students have
shown academic improvement,
including on the 2016 PARRC
assessments. Taylor credited the
Board, his administrative team and
staff for addressing the needs of a
diverse student population, and the
students for setting short- and long-
term goals for learning.
Dr. Jason D. Henry
Sesser-Valier CUSD 196
Egyptian
• Introducing a co-teaching program pairing a special
education teacher with a regular education teacher in
junior high and high school classrooms for English,
language arts and math. That plan helped reduce
the percentage of students identified as needing
Individualized Educations Plans (IEPs) by a third, from
21 percent to 14 percent.
• Partnering with Monsanto to introduce new STEM
technology such as 3D modeling and z-Space
workstations for students.
• Implementing a new, privately-funded, four-year LIFE
101 curriculum that focuses on life skills such as
personal financial management and budgeting.
• Implementing the “Shaping, Planning, Leading” project
to develop a comprehensive strategic plan for the
school district.
• Helping the Sesser-Valier Elementary School achieve
designation as a federal Blue Ribbon school.
Dr. Scott Goselin
Bradley District 61
Three Rivers
• Maintaining high standards in curriculum, instruction
and student learning.
• Providing a safe learning environment for students
and staff.
• Maintaining a fiscally responsible budget despite
challenging times and state cuts.
• Implementing a staff culture of respect, collaboration,
trust and shared responsibility.
• Maintaining positive union relations for the past
12 years.
• Building a positive relationship with
community members.
Timothy Buss
Wabash CUSD 348
Wabash Valley
• Having Mount Carmel High School rank among the
state’s top five schools in PARCC test scores for
Math and in the top 15 in English/Language Arts.
• Implementing Project Lead The Way (PLTW)
curriculum.
• Implementing the State Farm “Celebrate My Drive”
program that raised $250,000.
• Winning the Safe Schools Healthy Students grant
of $2.8 million.
• Working with community members to campaign
and successfully pass a 1% County Wide Facility
Sales Tax.
Dr. John Asplund
Farmington Central
District 265
CIV
• Erecting the nation’s
largest solar array
for a public K-12
institution
• Becoming the only
district in Illinois to
earn a Platinum rating
from the Southern
Illinois Purchasing
Cooperative for
a green cleaning
initiative
• Transforming the
district’s libraries into
research centers that
have become hubs of
student activity and
inquiry based learning
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