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communication, professionalism and community
involvement. The Illinois Superintendent of the Year
Selection Committee then reviews the applicants and
chooses a winner. Blankenship received the award at the
Joint Annual Conference in Chicago.
“I am extremely honored and privileged to serve as
superintendent of two tremendous school districts.
Both school communities work hard every day to
provide the best education possible for our students,”
says Blankenship. “Illinois has so many outstanding
superintendents that I also view this award as a reflection
of the work that all superintendents do on a daily basis.”
The genesis of his becoming a shared superintendent
started when David Roberts, former superintendent of
Winchester CUSD #1, announced his retirement in 2018.
The leadership from each board discussed the idea of
a shared superintendent and Blankenship expressed a
strong interest with the possibility of leading both districts.
Members of both school boards discussed the idea and a
committee was formed to weigh the pros and cons. In the
end, both boards recognized Blankenship was the right
person to lead both districts forward.
Three months into the school year, the transition has
gone smoothly.
LM Month 2019
“Dr. Blankenship was the right choice to lead our district
forward,” says Trista Freeman, school board member
in Winchester CUSD #1. “He’s been great as far as
communication with the board as well as maintaining
visibility at both districts.”
21st Century Learning
Since Blankenship was hired at Scott-Morgan CUSD #2 in
2012, the district has seen significant improvements in the
areas of technology, academic performance and facilities.
At that time, the district relied on a T-2 service line
that couldn’t handle an abundance of devices at one
time without crashing, not to mention a 1:1 initiative.
Blankenship worked with community business leaders and
the Rural Electrical Cooperative to bring fiber connectivity
to the district.
“The project was completed in my second year, and it
really opened the technological learning gates in the
district,” he says.
Scott-Morgan CUSD #2 has since implemented a 1:1
initiative with Google Chromebooks, where students in
grades 5–12 take home the devices. All third and fourth
graders have Chromebooks at school and students in
grades K–2 use iPads.
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erintendent
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