Leadership Matters - January 2013

Getting to know your IASA Board Members Dr. Kathryn J. Robbins, IASA President School district: Leyden High School District 212 Dr. Steve Webb, IASA President-elect School district: Goreville Community Unit School District 1

One thing you would like people to know about your school district: We gave each of our 3,500 students a Google Chromebook this year. Between the universal access to technology and the web and the use of Google Docs, the transformation in teaching and learning that has taken place in just the first four months is stunning. IASA Region: West Cook Years on IASA Board: 8 Years as educator: 33 High school: Rockford Guilford High School, Class of 1972 Colleges or Universities: B.S. in Business Education, Northern Illinois University, 1976; M.S. in Educational Leadership, National Louis University, 1984; Ed.D. in Educational Leadership, Loyola University, 1994 Family: Husband Mike, daughter Allyson Voss, son-in- law Jared Voss, 15-month old granddaughter Lyla Favorite hobby: I love cleaning and organizing - it relaxes me! Favorite movie: The Godfather I Favorite book: I Know This Much is True by Wally Lamb Favorite musical artist: Earth, Wind and Fire One thing people probably would be surprised to know about you: I’ve jumped out of a perfectly good airplane and have always wanted to be a race car driver Biggest concern about public education: The takeover of public education by big business interests who (1) care more about money than about students, (2) think the success of students and their schools should be measured and defined by a test score, and (3) think there is a one-size-fits-all solution to educational issues. Most encouraging thing about public education: the resilience of teachers who continue to be everyday heroes for their students despite the unrelenting attacks on their profession, and the creativity, optimism and character of students

One thing you would like people to know about your school district: Goreville CUSD 1, a small rural school

located in the heart of the Shawnee National Forest, is generally recognized for our consistently competitive extra-curricular programs, but most recently we were named a “Showcase School District” by SMART Technologies due to our progressive technology deployment. IASA Region: Shawnee Years on IASA Board: 6 Years as educator: 20 High school: Goreville High School, Class of 1987 Colleges or Universities: Associates in Science, John A. Logan College, 1989; B.A. in Biology/ Secondary Education, McKendree University, 1992; M.S. in Educational Administration, Southern Illinois University- Carbondale, 1996; Ph. D., Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, 2006 . Family: Married to Angie Webb for 20 years. Children - Nate (18), Alison (17), Braden (13), and Kanon (9). We live on a 55-acre cattle and horse farm in rural Tunnel Hill. My dad was a teacher and administrator for Goreville Schools for 31 years. Favorite hobby: Watching my children play sports. Favorite movie: Red Dawn (the original) Favorite book: Bible Favorite musical artist: Alabama One thing people probably would be surprised to know about you: I am an auxiliary police officer. Biggest concern about public education: The intrusion of state and federal government on local decision-making. Most encouraging thing about public education: I am encouraged that the years of rhetoric against public education has actually indicated the importance of greater local control and although the goals of most of the rhetoric might have been to advocate for vouchers and Charter Schools, I believe their message clearly substantiates the need for less government interference, which will certainly help public education move forward.

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