District Information: Superintendent

Mr. Dan Oakley, Superintendent

by Dan Oakley

September 04, 2007

Welcome to the 2008-2009 school year, one and all! I am very pleased to continue working with the students, faculty and staff, and community of Avon!

Someone once said "The only thing that stays the same is change." How apropos for our times! Whether change on the family level (children leaving the nest, marriages, etc.), change in the community or school (new teachers, new community programs, etc.), or change on the national level (new president, roller-coaster economy, etc.), change is always present.

Most of us are not "change" kinds of people. Most people are happy with the way things are once they are asked to change. A conversation with many older Americans would yield nuggets about "the good old days." Change, though, is inevitable, and always brings both new rewards and new challenges.

The greatest concern in all of this change is serving our students well with the resources available to the school district. As enrollment continues to decrease, difficulties continue in recruiting, hiring, and/or retaining staff members, revenues from both local taxes and state government stay relatively flat while costs increase, and pressures from state and federal government increase relative to district resources, the Board of Education is researching possible answers for maintaining and continuing to grow a quality educational program for the students of the district.

In this light, the Avon Community Unit School District Board of Education set goals last year. Among those goals was: "The Board of Education will explore options regarding the future structure of the district." This goal has been and will continue to be pursued throughout the school year. The Board of Education has already heard from speakers regarding both rewards and challenges involved in the reorganization options of forming a cooperative high school and consolidation between two districts.

The Board of Education has sent a letter to contiguous districts inviting those districts to submit ideas for types of reorganization in which they would have interest. The Board of Education will peruse the letters we receive in response in order to determine our next step. All of this is most like to happen sometime during the first semester.

Through all of this, the Board of Education and the faculty and staff of the school district will continue to deliver the best education we can with the resources of the district to all of the students enrolled with the school district while doing its best to protect the resources of the district.

Any community member having questions, comments, or concerns is encouraged to contact me at 309-465-3708, or via email at doakley@avonschools.us.

Have a great year!

Sincerely,

Dan Oakley, Superintendent

About me

I grew up in southern Illinois just north of Newton, Illinois. I graduated from Newton Community High School in 1982 and completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics Education at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston Illinois in 1986. I received my Masters of Science degree in Educational Administration from Western Illinois University in Macomb Illinois in 1997, and my Education Specialist certification in 2007.

Beth and I were married in 1991. Beth is an administrative assistant for the Vice-President for Student Services at WIU. We have raised two children, Andy and Amy. Andy is a geologist for Anadarko Oil in Houston, TX, and Amy has completed her degree in law enforcement with a minor in forensic chemistry.

My hobbies are music (both listening and singing), reading, writing, and church activities, as well as giving the family pets - a Himalayan cat and a Shicon puppy) attention.

Work history

2007-current Avon CUSD #176, Avon, Illinois - Superintendent

2003-2007 Hamilton Schools, Hamilton, Illinois - Hamilton Junior-Senior High School principal

2002-2003 Colchester Schools, Colchester, Illinois - administrative assistant, athletics and technology

1996-2002 Colchester Schools, Colchester, Illinois - athletic director and technology coordinator

1994-2002 Colchester Schools, Colchester, Illinois - high school mathematics

1988-1994 Colchester Schools, Colchester, Illinois - junior high school mathematics

1986-1988 RUCE Schools, Reddick, Illinois - jr-sr high school mathematics

Coaching and extra-curriculars - Elementary basketball, junior high baseball, basketball and math teams, high school baseball, JETS/WYSE, scholastic bowl, and other academic teams

Organizations

Illinois Association of School Administrators

Western Illinois Administrators Roundtable

Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development

Phi Kappa Phi

Phi Delta Kappan

Books read recently

Pat Buchanan - The Unnecessary War (current)

Jack McDevitt - The Devil's Eye (current)

Jack Higgins - The Killing Fields

Brad Thor - The Last Patriot

Alastair Reynolds - The Prefect