Leadership Matters September 2014

Getting to know your IASA Board Members

Evan (11) Favorite hobby: Fishing Favorite movie: Caddyshack Favorite book: Good to Great by Jim Collins Favorite musical artist: Def Leopard One thing people probably would be surprised to know about you: I collect baseball/basketball/ football cards with my son. Biggest concern about public education: The loss of talented teachers because of the negative portrayal of public education. Most encouraging thing about public education: I am encouraged when I walk through a school building and see engagement between teachers and students. I can feel the passion for teaching and the desire for learning. One thing people probably would be surprised to know about you: People might be surprised to know that I studied piano for 10 years and absolutely love music and am a big concert fan. Biggest concern about public education: For me it is the focus on negativity that we receive from the media, which becomes “truth” to the general public. It seems that daily we are criticized for “failing” our students when I believe that we are in no way failing! I believe that public school systems are committed to excellence, are working under a great deal of social pressure and expected to respond to issues without the proper funding or resources in which to do so. We need to be a national priority, as we provide the greatest service of educating ALL students – that doesn’t happen in most places in this world. We need to stop being a political “slogan” and become a political priority! Most encouraging thing about public education: My fellow educators. Despite constant criticism and public scrutiny we continue to be dedicated to serving the children in our public schools and providing the best educational programs we can afford. I am always impressed by my colleagues and their commitment to their job.

Michael Sutton, Southwestern

School district: Highland CUSD 5 One thing you would like people to know about your school district: We feel and believe that we have a little

piece of heaven with dedicated teachers, great support staff, and a supportive community. Years as educator: 17 High school: Mt. Carmel High School Colleges or Universities: B .S. from SIU at Carbondale, M.S. and Ed.S. from Eastern Illinois University. Family : Wife, Theresa and 2 kids, Leah (14) and Victoria Tabbert, DuPage School district: Queen Bee School District 16 One thing you would like people to know about your school district: Over the past few years my leadership team has worked diligently to end a long-time problem of borrowing early taxes. As a result of our efforts, QB has moved from the financial warning/watch categories to recognition for three years in a row! This has made a significant change in how we do business and this summer we were able to complete $5 million dollars of renovations to our buildings. All while experiencing diminishing revenues and limitations in levying funds due to the tax cap! Years as educator: 33 High school: Marian Catholic High School Colleges or Universities: Illinois State University, Normal; National-Louis University, Evanston; Northern Illinois University, DeKalb Family : Married to Matt for 25 years. I have two beautiful daughters, Jaclyn (24) and Mallory (19). Favorite hobby: Reading Favorite movie: It is a toss-up between The Godfather and The Wizard of Oz Favorite book: The Kite Runner Favorite musical artist: Bruce Springsteen

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