205's Sappington headed to ISU

Superintendent will be professor of administration

Wednesday, April 27, 2005

By AMANDA WILLIAMS

of The Register-Mail

GALESBURG - District 205 Superintendent Neil Sappington, 54, announced Tuesday he will be leaving the district in June to take a job at Illinois State University in Normal.

Sappington will be taking advantage of the early retirement option when he leaves.

"It's an opportunity for me to work at the university level. I've always wanted to do that toward the end of my career," Sappington said.

Deborah Harrison, president of the board of education, said the board has not had a chance to discuss the plan to replace Sappington. She said the board most likely will set the same hiring standards it followed in the past, looking for someone who displays leadership and integrity and has a strong background.

At ISU Sappington will be a professor of educational administration. He will work with students in the master's and doctoral programs. He will teach one class on the ISU campus in Normal and another class in the Palatine School District, through the ISU Educational Administration and Foundations Department.

He plans to stay in Galesburg with his wife Jackie, a first-grade teacher at Lincoln Elementary School.

"I really raised my family here; I've lived here for 32 years, it's home to us," Sappington said.

Sappington has worked in District 205 for 26 years and has been the superintendent since 2002. Previously he was assistant superintendent for curriculum, principal at Steele Elementary School and Rose Hoben Welch and a teacher at Lombard Middle School. He also was the principal at ROWVA High School before being hired by District 205.

Sappington said the experience he has gained as a teacher and administrator in Galesburg will help him at ISU next year. He said the work District 205 has done to improve instruction, including its academic expectations and local assessment system, made him a strong candidate for the job at ISU.

With the board considering a recommendation to close Cooke Elementary School, Harrison said the timing of Sappington's retirement is not the best, but she understands his reasons for leaving.

"This opportunity came up and you just can't hardly blame him," Harrison said.