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with respect and grace. They raised us to seek,
understand, and carry out our calling in life—what
God requires of us—as the only way that we could
ever experience genuine, life-long satisfaction,” he
said. “As a 19-year-old student at the University of
Illinois, I knew without any doubt that teaching and
learning in the public
school system was
my calling. Since
that time, I’ve
learned that Mom
and Dad were right,
that real satisfaction
in life was possible if
I carried out my life’s
calling.”
He attained his
undergraduate
degree from the
University of Illinois
and his Master’s and
Ph.D. from Southern
Illinois University-
Carbondale.
Given the fact he
had his long-term
career mapped out
at age 19 as well as
his attention to detail
and his obvious
management skills,
it might come as
something of a
surprise to learn that
Henry met his wife
of 15 years, Kerri, on
a blind date.
“We are both Type
A personalities and
lack spontaneity, so
this is usually pretty
surprising to our friends and colleagues,” he
acknowledged. The couple welcomed their first
child, Jack, who will be 1-year-old in March.
Henry characterizes being a school
superintendent a “family-based calling” in which
Kerri and Jack are active partners.
“Kerri is my best friend, my most-trusted advisor,
and my reality check. Kerri has embraced her role
as the wife of a school superintendent, and has
worked alongside me the whole time, even when, at
times, it would have been much easier and more
comfortable to stay back behind-the-scenes. She’s
already assimilating Jack to his role, as well, raising
him as a ‘school kid’ and using our role as new
parents to help build relationships with both school
children and parents in an extraordinary way.
“Being a public school administrator or teacher is
not merely a job that a person goes to each day. It’s
about living a lifestyle—modeling an example—
toward which both children and adults in our
community can
aspire. We are
tremendously
humbled at the
thought of that level of
responsibility, and we
are very grateful for
our colleagues and
friends who share that
same view of being
educators.”
For some, being
recognized as a state
Superintendent of the
Year might symbolize
a career-capping
achievement—time to
take a breath and
look back on a
successful career.
For Henry, it serves
more as motivation to
continue to excel. In
his acceptance
remarks at the Joint
Annual Conference in
Chicago in late
November, Henry told
the audience:
“Boys and girls, men
and women, families,
organizations,
churches, and
communities are
counting on us to set
the pace and show them the way to true
satisfaction and peace. Edmund Burke, an Irish
statesman in the 1700s, once said, ‘The only thing
necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to
do nothing.’ In the Bible, James 4:17 addresses
this truth more firmly: ‘If you know the right thing to
do and don’t do it, that, for you, is evil.’ This room
is filled today with men and women who know the
right things to do in our schools and communities.
My challenge for you today—Do it!
“My commitment to you is simple—to do the
best I can in any way I can to lead our school
children with positivity, hopefulness, excellence,
and with class.”
“Being a public school administrator or
teacher is not merely a job that a person
goes to each day. It’s about living a
lifestyle—modeling an example—toward
which both children and adults in our
community can aspire.”
—Dr. Jason Henry, with wife Kerri and son Jack