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Getting to know your IASA Membership and
Communications Committee Members
Greg Frehner,
Shawnee Region
School district:
Vienna
Elementary School District 55
One thing you would like people
to know about your school
district:
District 55 continues to be
recognized for its strong student performance.
Years as educator:
19
High school:
Palmyra-Eagle High School
(Palmyra, WI)
Colleges or Universities:
Bethany Lutheran
College (Mankato, MN), Associates Degree;
University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse ,Secondary
Education; Eastern Illinois University, Type 75
Administrative; Southern Illinois University;
Carbondale, Superintendent’s Certificate
Family:
Wife, Tonya and son, Knox
Favorite hobby:
Spending time with family,
following sports teams from Wisconsin, and
historical research
Favorite movie:
Hoosiers
Favorite book:
The Winner Within
by Pat Riley
Favorite musical artist:
Classic Rock n Roll
One thing people probably would be surprised to
know about you:
My parents are retired
professional educators from Wisconsin
Biggest concern about public education:
Forced
reductions in staff and programs due to continued
General State Aid proration and an existing funding
formula that widens the inequity gap for rural school
districts.
Most encouraging thing about public education:
Professional educators (both certified and non-
certified staff) and Boards of Education who
continue to work diligently to do more with less. The
passion for providing the best possible educational
experience for every student continues to be strong
during these challenging times in public education in
the State of Illinois.
Mark Doan
Wabash Valley Region
School district:
Effingham Unit District 40
One thing you would like people to know about
your school district:
We have a nationally
recognized Mentoring Program with over 130 adult
mentors for students in grades 5-12. Unit 40 has
developed partnerships with both the local Chamber
of Commerce and Lakeland Community College to
establish new dual credit, vocational learning
opportunities for students.
Years as educator:
26
High school:
Unity High School (Tolono)
Colleges or Universities:
SIU-Carbondale, Illinois
State University & Eastern Illinois University
Family
: Wife, Sharon; stepchildren Nick Gough
(Gretchen) and Allyson Grant (Ryan);
Granddaughters: Brookelyn, Ava, Jenna, and Lyla
Favorite hobby:
Sharon and I have a Class A RV
and we love to visit places we have never been.
You meet wonderful people across Illinois and
surrounding states.
Favorite movie:
Anything with John Wayne as the
lead.
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
ranks up there.
Favorite book:
The Bible. It has
provided me with great guidance.
Favorite musical artist:
Not really
tied to one artist but if I had to
choose, probably Elvis
One thing people probably would
be surprised to know about you:
I really like dirt track racing. The
Midwest has the best dirt track racing in the U.S
Biggest concern about public education:
The
lack of an overall plan for improvement is a major
concern. Two points: 1) we lose credibility and
focus when changes are initiated every few years,
and 2) districts cannot implement with fidelity any
programs when there are multiple presented with
little support.
Most encouraging thing about public education:
Despite the onslaught of issues (standards,
assessment, evaluation, and pensions to name a
few) our profession continues to improve and “do
more with less” every year. Educators and school
districts do not get the credit for continuing to make
a positive difference in our students’ lives everyday.
We continue to have dedicated employees that care
about kids.