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2014-2015 Moon Scholarship Program
Are you a superintendent or an aspiring superintendent? Are you pursuing graduate
study to become the best superintendent you can be? Do you know there are
scholarships available through IASA to help offset the costs of your coursework?
Established in 1993 in memory of Dr. James V. Moon, a former superintendent at
Morton High School District, the James V. and Dorothy B. Moon Scholarship program
is committed to improving the education and qualifications of school administrators.
Since its inception, 80 scholarships totaling nearly $174,199.78
have been awarded
to current or aspiring superintendents.
Practicing school administrators in Illinois qualify if they are college graduates pursuing an advanced degree in
educational administration at an accredited college or university. Several scholarships ($2,500 minimum
each) are awarded each year and are paid directly to the college or university to cover tuition, fees and/or
textbook expenses.
To obtain more information on the application and awards process,
or
contact Cherry Middleton, IASA Executive Secretary/Office Manager, at 217/753-2213
or email at
This year’s application deadline is Friday, January 2, 2015.
As most superintendents know, the primary task
of the school board is to continually define, articulate
and re-define district ends to answer the recurring
question: “Who gets what benefits for how much?” In
order to define those ends and clarify the district’s
vision, mission and goals, the school board needs to
connect with its community around the aspirations
that people have for their local schools.
While many school districts do very good work
around public relations or polling, connecting with the
community involves much more than that. It requires
an ongoing, two-way conversation that enables the
school board to hear and understand the
community’s educational aspirations and desires, to
serve effectively as an advocate for district
improvement and to accurately inform the community
of the district’s performance.
That’s why the Illinois Association of School
Boards (IASB) prepared and distributed a new report,
“
Connecting with the Community: the Purpose and
Process of Community Engagement as part of
Effective School Board Governance
.” Its purpose is to
help school boards – and superintendents –
understand what community engagement is, why it is
critical, what they can expect to accomplish, and how
to evaluate the results.
While IASB is not trying to be prescriptive, it is
offering workshops and other tools to help boards
and school administrators know what each of their
roles are in the community engagement process. It is
our hope that this experience will forge stronger
bonds between members of the school management
team and the community, as they initiate this difficult
but vital work.
Districts that want to know more about IASB’s
community engagement process should contact their
IASB Field Services Director in Springfield or
Lombard.
IASB to offer workshops regarding community engagement
