Like many teens, Michael Courington was dying to get a job. “My family didn’t have a lot of money growing up. I was chomping at the bit to turn 16 to start working because I wanted a car,” Courington says. “My mother
Read moreAs superintendents face twin challenges, NIU works to prepare ‘visionary’ leaders
Ask Danny Oest to name the Top 5 challenges confronting school superintendents, and he succinctly boils his list down to just two. But they’re big ones. First, says Oest, the former shared superintendent of Richmond-Burton Community High School 157 and Nippersink School
Read moreNIU Ed Admin alum Brian Harris serves Barrington 220 with ‘what’s best for kids’
Brian Harris sports an impressive résumé. Superintendent of Schools in Barrington 220. Former superintendent of Wheaton-Warrenville 200, and assistant superintendent for Human Resources and Secondary Education in St. Charles 303. President of the Large Unit District Association in Illinois, an organization representing
Read moreEd.S. student accepts new challenge while closing in on NIU superintendency degree
During Matt Birdsley’s high school days in Fulton, Ill., he took advantage of – and thoroughly enjoyed – service-learning opportunities that allowed him to work with elementary school students. Those positive interactions led Birdsley to the NIU College of Education, where he
Read moreSuperintendency alums look back fondly on NIU preparation, forward to new roles
Charlie Kyle and Matt Barbini, alums of NIU’s various Educational Administration programs, are celebrating new professional milestones. Kyle, who completed his Ed.D. in 2017, his Ed.S in 2004 and his M.S.Ed. in 2001, was named in 2018 as the assistant superintendent of
Read moreA homecoming 40 years in the making: Lynn Gibson starts second career at NIU
During Lynn Gibson’s undergraduate years in the NIU College of Business, then housed inside Wirtz Hall, she lived directly across the street in the Timbercrest Apartments on the corner of Lucinda Avenue and Garden Road. Hers was Apartment 5, she knows for
Read moreEd.D. in Ed Administration receives new name, focus
Following the Illinois General Assembly’s update of the Illinois School Code standards for new school superintendents, the NIU Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations accordingly redesigned its programs. That work has resulted in untangling the Ed.S. – an educational specialist degree
Read moreNIU offers first program to meet new guidelines for school superintendents in Illinois
Requirements have changed for educators who want to become school superintendents in Illinois – and NIU is the first university in the state to change with them. Passage of Public Act 98-413 by the Illinois General Assembly updated the Illinois School Code
Read morePanel discussion to address tough issues facing local schools, teachers and students
The NIU College of Education’s ongoing Community Learning Series continues Thursday, Oct. 22 when the college welcomes back three distinguished alumni to share their experiences as educators and school administrators and provide insights into what it takes to be successful in today’s classrooms.
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