Front Page
By Theresa Kelly Gegen
Recent events had a few of us in the Communications Department peering into the archives to fill in some historical details for articles, news, and notes from the Illinois Association of School Boards.
Some things never change. Journal articles from the late 1970s include dealing with conflict, understanding changes to the curriculum, the role of the board president, qualifications to teach reading, filling board vacancies, and local control. Moving the research into the mid-1980s, reporting on the IASB member survey from 40 years ago included articles headlined “How are women changing Illinois School Boards?” and “Where the women are.”
At the time all those articles were published, the presidents of IASB were women. A member of the board of education for Peoria Public Schools, the late Elizabeth M. Cleaver was elected the first woman president of IASB in 1979. In the ‘80s, the late Joan Levy was IASB President; at that time, she served on the school board for New Trier THSD 203.
According to “Where the women are,” 25% of Illinois school board members in 1983 were women. In “How are women changing Illinois School Boards?” the author, journalist Lynn Pattison, reported on a study that concluded that “Women tend to run for the board … out of a deep personal commitment to education and a desire to affect the educational programs in their district, whereas men tend to run … out of a sense of public duty.”
Also, “Women tend to ask more questions and different types of questions than men. Whereas men tend to ask what a proposal is and how much it will cost, women tend to ask why the proposal is being made … or they may also be the first to raise the proposal and ask, ‘What if we tried this?’”
Here’s something that has changed. In the most recent IASB member survey, from 2020, 48% of board member respondents selected female (49% male, 3% preferred not to answer). There are now more women — a lot more — in leadership positions for their local communities.
This issue marks a time of transition for IASB staff and administration as three eminent educators with well over a century of combined experience — Executive Director Tom Bertrand, Associate Executive Director for Board Development Dean Langdon, and Director of Executive Searches Tom Leahy — have retired or departed from the Association for a national role. Each in his own way has made the Association stronger and served its members with enthusiasm and wisdom.
Filling their roles? Well, this year for IASB, that’s “Where the women are.”
Three illustrious leaders and educators from within IASB are taking on these positions this summer. Kimberly A. Small, the Association’s General Counsel and Associate Executive Director, was announced this past spring as the next Executive Director and is the first woman to hold that position. Lori Grant, formerly an IASB Field Services Director, is the new Associate Executive Director for Board Development. And Patricia Sullivan-Viniard moves from Consultant to Director of Executive Searches.
Each exemplifies, in her own way, a “deep personal commitment to public education.” For certain they will be getting to the whys, raising the proposals, and asking “What if we tried this?”