On the record ... with Kathy Countryman

SYCAMORE – When Sycamore School District 427 students arrive for the first day of school today, they may see their new superintendent. But Superintendent Kathy Countryman is no stranger to Sycamore or the district.

Countryman has worked for the district in various capacities since 2000. Both of her children are Sycamore alumni, she said, and her grandson completed kindergarten at North Grove Elementary last year.

With the retirement last spring of former superintendent Wayne Riesen, Countryman takes over a school district that covers more than 80 square miles and teaches about 3,800 students in seven schools.

Countryman talked with MidWeek reporter Curtis Clegg about her career and the challenges that lie ahead.

MidWeek: Did you keep busy over the summer?

Kathy Countryman: Over the summer there was a lot of transition still going on, and we are working to combine my old position as assistant superintendent for H.R. and personnel with my new position. We are working through all of those details, so that kept us really busy. We were also able to do some hiring this month, so that was nice too.

MW: No one is taking over your old role as assistant superintendent?

KC: Correct. We are fortunate that we have people in our offices up here, as well as in the buildings, that are taking on additional duties to make sure that everything runs smoothly.

MW: Were the new positions administrative?

KC: No. We did hire a director of curriculum to replace Dr. Leifheit, who retired. Kristine Webster came on board July 1, so we are really happy to have her as well as Jan Benson, who is our new special ed director.

MW: The first day of school will be Aug. 22, the day this interview appears in the MidWeek. What are your plans for that day?

KC: For the first day of school my plan is to visit all the buildings, and to see all those smiling faces and backpacks and school supplies and everything else that goes along with that day, and just to help out in any way that I can. My first career, of course, was as a teacher, so it's just great to see all the teachers and kids. I know that first day, with most of them smiling and a few of them apprehensive.

MW: What brought you to Illinois?

KC: My husband I are both from Iowa and we both were teachers there. We were both offered teaching positions in District 204 in Naperville, but coming from a smaller community, we both found our way to Sycamore. …It has been a good fit for us. Sycamore has been very, very supportive and has a small-town feel. It feels like home to us.

MW: What can you tell me about your background?

KC: I have been really lucky because my path to this position has been one in which I have had the ability to number one, be a teacher. I think that has helped me in looking at what a teacher does, because it's a really hard job. Teaching is really hard. We have very talented teachers in the district and they work extremely hard. …I was able to be an assistant principal in Naperville and learn under a strong principal in a large building, so I had that safety net there. Then I was able to come to Southeast (Elementary School in Sycamore) as a principal. …I feel like I have had great training and great mentorship.

MW: How many schools are in the Sycamore School District?

KC: We have seven schools. We have five elementarys, one middle school, one high school, and then we have an additional facility called Life School which is a program that we consider a school also. It is housed within Opportunity House.

MW: Is enrollment increasing, decreasing or steady?

KC: We will see. Usually the number we use for enrollment is after the fifth day of attendance (of the new school year). If you had to categorize it, I'd say our enrollment is steady.

MW: How big is the district?

KC: It is 80 square miles. That seems like a lot, doesn't it? That's a lot of transportation that occurs and we use our own employees as bus drivers. We found that for Sycamore, having our own transportation department has been good for us.

MW: How are you adapting to having one less bus route this year?

KC: We were able to look at all of our stops and, in view of some of the budget concerns and the transportation reimbursement that the state has changed, we looked to see if there were some areas where we could consolidate routes without impacting students with excessive time on the bus.

MW: The district finished construction on the new wing of Sycamore Middle School last year. Are there other pending construction plans?

KC: At this point in time, no. We had a plan for all of our construction and that started seven years ago, I believe. We went forth with that and at this point we are complete.

MW: I read on your website about the district's strategic plan design – is the construction plan part of that?

KC: No, the strategic design is a document that we utilize to drive everything we do in the district. It has in it learning goals, goals for us in regards to how we interact with the community, and it has goals and mission statements that will take us far into the future. We use it primarily for a decision screen and to drive and focus us. For example, when we get to any kind of resource allocation, we look to that document and say, "Is this something that we believe to be true for our students?" If it is there, then we move forward. If it isn't then we question it. It has really worked well for us.

MW: How would you describe your leadership style?

KC: I would view my style as collaborative, community-based and reflective. I understand that you need good people with you and working toward a common vision. I feel like I'm a good listener and I feel like I will take everything into account. We know our number one job here is student achievement and student learning, and so as a leader that has to be kept on the forefront.

MW: How does the district's 95 percent attendance rating compare to other local schools?

KC: That is good. Our kids come to school. Attendance for us has never been something we really have to focus on. At the high school level though, we have seen that we have to work really hard with some students where we have attendance concerns. We try to look at their situations and individualize their programs so they can come to school and succeed.

MW: How involved do you plan to be with school activities?

KC: Extracurriculars are very important to us. We view ourselves as a comprehensive school district – our students have the opportunity to have the core curriculum with the required classes, and then we want to provide them with unique opportunities. …I really rely on Mr. Carrick, who is our activities director, as well as our administrators to keep me up to date with where we are on things. I have always tried to attend as many events as I can and I will continue to do that.

MW: Do you have a schedule of events planned for the Sycamore Film Festival?

KC: I have not seen a schedule. I do know that we are showing our new teachers, on Thursday, the Sycamore documentary from last year. We show it to them because we want them to have not only us telling them what it's like to come to Sycamore, but I think that documentary is very powerful in that it really depicts the past, as well as where Sycamore is today.

MW: What has it been like to follow the progress of the students you met your first year, in 2000?

KC: When I go to the high school or I go to the graduation, the kids who are walking across the stage were students I was able to work with at Southeast. It makes me feel extremely old, but it also makes me feel so proud of them.

MW: Now that you are the superintendent, you get to worry about the big budget issues. How difficult is that?

KC: In my role as assistant superintendent, it was one of my duties to work with Luke Glowiak, who is our assistant superintendent for business, on, unfortunately at this point in time, a budget deficit reduction plan. That is not a new task, but it's not one that I enjoy because any time you reduce budgets, you impact student learning and you may impact the kids through personnel changes or even though programs that you have to look at. That, unfortunately, has been part of my past position.

MW: Do you see any bright spots in the state's budget process?

KC: The bright spots would be that general state aid is still coming, but not necessarily on time and not necessarily in the amounts we expected a few years ago. Unfortunately, some of our programming with grants and some other funding like that isn't coming and has been cut, reduced or delayed. All of those things impact us. As far as the bright spots, we are still getting some funding but the state really needs to, in my opinion, make some decisions with regard to how they are going to fund education so that we can maintain programming and the integrity of our programming.

MW: Are you the one responsible for driving the roads on snowy mornings to determine if the district will have a snow day?

KC: Last year Dr. Riesen took me on ride-alongs with him. When you're out there you think, "Should we do this, or shouldn't we do this?" …When Dr. Riesen and I were working together he told me that one of the hardest things to do is calling that snow day because what happens is, you are in a position where student safety is at the forefront. I know I will be leaning on Kreg Wesley, who is our director of operations, with regard to some of those safety decisions.

MW: Are there any changes in the special education programs this year?

KC: We have a new director, Jan Benson. She has been in the district as a special ed teacher and more recently as a coordinator, so we are very excited to see what her vision for special education in the district will be. We are hiring some new special education teachers this year.

MW: Are those special ed teachers filling vacancies, or are you adding positions?

KC: Both. We had some retirements, and then based on student need we did have to add a couple of positions this year.

MW: How does the pension crisis affect employees of the Sycamore School District?

KC: It could affect the school district. But that will be based on what we hear from Springfield. I was listening to the radio this morning and I know they (the Legislature) are coming back and there was actually some conversation today. The way it could impact the school district is that, depending on what they do with pensions, there has been some discussion with shifting pension cost to the local district. If that occurs, then it will definitely impact the district.

MW: Will you still have time to be a part of the Sycamore Chamber of Commerce and civic organizations?

KC: Yes. I feel that our community is such a huge partner for us. The district has always partnered with the community, like with the chamber and many other entities. In times when there are some budgetary needs, I think that partnering could help us with regard to not having duplication of services, and looking at ways that we can help the community and ways the community can help the district. I will still sit on the chamber board – I think it's really important for us to have a good working knowledge of the landscape of our business community. We work closely with the park district and of course we have a good relationship with the city of Sycamore. …I am a Rotarian, so I feel like that's an important component also. I encourage all of our buildings to have a service component.

MW: What are your short-term and long-term goals for the district?

KC: Short term, I would say that we need to maintain our current programming to be diligent in keeping student achievement on the forefront despite some of the budgetary constraints. …Long term, we are really looking at ways to enhance student achievement as well as enhancing community partnerships. And of course, we are looking at ways technology is impacting the educational landscape. This year we will be working on developing a community survey that should go out this spring with regard to how the community views the educational system here in Sycamore, and those results will drive our goals for the next year.

MW: How much do you interact with superintendents in other school districts?

KC: I have known Dr. Briscoe (superintendent of the DeKalb School District) for the past few years from different committees and community initiatives. …The regional office of education brings together all of the school administrators on a regular basis. We talk about what's going on in our districts, as well as new initiatives or mandates that are going forward. We have some cooperative agreements with the DeKalb School District that have been great for our kids, like the swimming co-op and the gymnastics co-op.