District 300 looks into bringing back full-time curriculum director

The Du Quoin Unit District 300 school board is mulling making a major investment in the district's curriculum and academic performance by potentially reinstating a full-time director of instructional services and introducing instructional coaches.

Diana Rea was the full-time curriculum director for nearly two years, until longtime Du Quoin Elementary School principal Peg Pursell retired in 2014. Rea took over that job as well, as the district didn't have the money to replace Pursell outright.

At Thursday's school board meeting, Superintendent Matt Hickam said having a dedicated curriculum director is key to improving academic performance throughout the pre-K through 12th grade district. He believes the district's financial situation has improved to the point where it can support a $90,000-$100,000 position going forward.

"Let's find out where our gaps are in curriculum and shore them up," he urged the school board last week.

Board members informally agreed to pursue the idea and allow Hickam to research bringing back a director, starting with the 2021-22 school year.

"This is exactly where we need to be," declared member Crystal Harsy.

Hickam said he wanted to give himself enough time to verify that the district will be able to sustain the position long term. School board member Brian Rodely admitted to being concerned that state funding for schools is still "soft."

Hickam said the Du Quoin building principals each evaluate curriculum in their own schools, but a curriculum director's job is to unify curriculum districtwide.

"If there isn't one person overseeing the curriculum from that lens, we don't have the unity and there will be gaps," Hickam said.

Hickam also wants to bring in instructional coaches, people - who may already be employed in District 300 - whose job it is to coach their fellow teachers.

Hickam said the Illinois department of education is promoting the idea of instructional coaches to help teachers be even better at what they do.

Teachers, he said, don't get to talk much about what works and what doesn't work - they spend virtually all their time doing their jobs in the classroom and it's hard to find time for self-improvement.

Instructional coaches, he said, have been shown to make better teachers, and that is reflected in how well their students perform.

Hickam said Herrin Unit District 4 is crediting instructional coaches with better student performance. For one thing, Herrin's graduation rate jumped from 83% to 93% in one year.

Hickam said his goal is for Du Quoin District 300 to "stand out" among southern Illinois school districts that are similar to Du Quoin in size and demographics.

Right now, "I feel like we're in the middle, we hold our own," he said. "Some districts perform better than we do, and we perform better than others."

He said the district's primary focus for improvement should be literacy and math.

"You cover a lot of bases when you cover those subjects," Hickam said. "Reading and writing will have a big impact on kids' success as they continue through the educational system."

Hickam loves his staff and believes they are eager for more tools.

"The people we have here ... I wouldn't trade the people we have for anybody," he said. "They are really interested in doing better for our kids."