Ottawa Elementary Superintendent Cleve Threadgill retiring after four decades in education

Ottawa Elementary Superintendent Cleve Threadgill received a standing ovation 11 years ago when he was named the district’s top administrator.

The district’s teachers knew he would be one of their own, someone who understands what they go through everyday and what’s necessary to run a successful classroom.

They knew, because Threadgill has always been an educator first.

A decade after his first student teaching position, Threadgill started teaching sixth graders 33 years ago at McKinley Elementary School on Ottawa’s South Side, succeeding Don Ledbetter.

“I taught all subjects until I became, ‘the science teacher,’ ” Threadgill said. “I said at the time it was the subject I’d call my least favorite subject but then things go one way or another, and I knew how I didn’t want to teach it, so it actually became something very important to me. I went through a lot of professional development opportunities.”

These opportunities led Threadgill to enroll in the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, a test to receive National Board Certification he said had a difficulty in line with a bar exam or a CPA test. From there, he learned more about better taking advantage of the resources the school already had.

This training sparked him to come up with creative projects more likely to hold the children’s attention. At the time, Ottawa Elementary’s science classes weren’t on the cutting edge they are today. Something, such as the zSpace program, hadn’t been thought of, and hands-on projects with a student weren’t as common as they are now. Threadgill said the only thing he had different from other classes was a sink, specifically a sink that didn’t drain into anywhere but a bucket.

“I had to empty the bucket the sink drained into after school every day,” Threadgill said.

Threadgill learned to maximize what he had. He had all kinds of materials at his disposal, such as electricity, conductors and non-conductors, and he started playing around with them to teach himself how to use it.

“We had a number of old science kits that were in boxes that must’ve been purchased in the 70s that a couple of teachers used over the years, but my understanding was that the professional development never followed,” Threadgill said. “So, a lot of these materials were never used and I felt like I died and went to heaven. I couldn’t believe all this stuff.”

He purchased acids and bases and these kits went toward building an interest in science for students. Born of these educational kits were the Greek and Roman festivals.

His students and colleagues remember his lesson plans vividly. Deaf and hard at hearing instructor Susan Hendrickson started teaching around the same time as Threadgill, and she recalls Threadgill’s Greek and Roman festivals. Threadgill would wear togas and use the theme as a way to expand on topics for sixth graders in an interactive way.

Threadgill was creative with themes, making projects like having students build the Colosseum out of sugar cubes and wear costumes to put on plays. Parents brought in food, and the educators were able to tie everything into the curriculum.

“I taught with him for five years,” said McKinley first grade teacher Rosie Walker. “I learned a lot from him, myself. He handled the science and I handled the math, and that’s what led to the rockets. I had to learn about that because each kid was building a rocket. He had the ability to be fun and keep the kids in control because everything with these projects was such a big deal to the kids. They had fun and knew they had to follow the rules.”

Central Intermediate School Principal Ryan Myers remembers those rocket kits as well, especially since the rockets have now become a regular project for Ottawa Elementary STEM students.

“The big one that always stands out to me with Mr. Threadgill is science, because he loves it,” Myers said. “We made rockets and all that kinds of stuff and as a boy at that age, it’s just the best. You’re loving school, and that’s what’s fantastic about him.”

Myers said Threadgill was the first male teacher he’d ever had and is an influence. Between the science experiments and how he’d play football with the students, he taught everyone to love school.

“Even when I was in college, one of the first times I needed hours for pre-teaching, I came to him and he mentored me through the learning process, learning how to be an educator,” Myers said. “He showed me what I needed to do and then eventually, he’s the one that hired me to be a principal. He’s been a mentor all along, and he always has great insight.”

That influence is seen on many teachers in the district, who like Threadgill, are teaching in the district they attended as children. Many of the teachers in OES 141 are his former students.

Threadgill said he believed he could take a least favorite subject and turn it into a favorite subject by giving students a chance to make a true inquiry. He also wanted to break the mold that said boys do math and science, and girls work with language arts.

Jefferson Elementary Principal Nate Pinter said Threadgill was his principal while he was teaching fifth grade at Waltham Elementary and Threadgill has been supportive of his career. The way he answers questions and is there to lend an ear, and provide the uncomfortable answers, is something Pinter hopes he can replicate in his own career.

“I want to be as supportive to teachers as he was when I was a teacher,” Pinter said. “People respond to that when it’s done in a positive way, especially if they know there’s support behind them.”

Pinter, like Myers and Lincoln Elementary Principal Melanie Conley, said Threadgill stresses the need to build relationships with everyone in the building, not just teachers, but also other members of the staff and students.

“That’s the foundation to any success in education and I think that’s the core of what Cleve is about about,” Myers said. “He’s reinforced that in all of us and it’s a big part of my life. A lot of the successes I’ve had come from the things he’s instilled in us all along the way.”

Conley echoed the sentiment.

“His willingness to talk one on one with anybody who needs to touch base about something, or just has an idea they want to bounce off him, shows how much care and concern he has for each person and every situation that comes up,” Conley said. “He’s leaving some big shoes to fill.”

Christine Bucciarelli, the curriculum director for the district, said she works with Threadgill perhaps more closely than anyone else in the district. He was specifically one of the driving forces behind creating the kindergarten through eighth grade STEM courses for the district.

Threadgill said the school wasn’t in a great financial situation when the STEM lab idea was first introduced, but it was important to the district to provide children an education they can take with them into a professional field from a young age.

“We had money that was sitting in an account for a while from the Spangler family,” Threadgill said. “That’s why we call the lab at Shepherd the Spangler STEM Lab. We had a process to check with any relatives of the family that donated the money and they loved the idea, so we used that money and I went back to my science days and thought about what I would have wanted if I got to teach a class like this.”

The STEM courses teach students to look at the world in an analytical way.

“We’re now able to really give, I think, an outstanding experience from the time kids start until they graduate,” Threadgill said.

Bucciarelli said Threadgill’s passion to bring STEM to every classroom is infectious, and the school sees students connect their lessons to their everyday life without being prompted.

“He’s the leader he would want to follow himself,” Bucciarelli said. “He’s the example of how an administrator should work at their job. It’s always going to be student first with him. Then he goes down the line. How does this affect staff? How does this affect bus drivers? Custodians? He views us as one big working family, and he makes sure everybody feels valued and cared for.”

Shepherd Social Studies teacher Bob Lowe started teaching in the district in 1990, which is when he met Threadgill. Lowe said his wife points to the moment where she was stressed out as a parent and he listened and helped create an actionable plan.

“I had a good experience with him as a parent,” Lowe said. “My daughter was struggling a little bit with her dyslexia and reading, and we were just trying to get her to fit in and finding out what help you need is not easy to figure out. You try one thing and it doesn’t work, so you try another.”

Lowe said Threadgill remained a calming presence for the district, even through COVID-19.

Shepherd Principal Gary Windy has been at Shepherd for eight years, so he’s only ever known Threadgill as a superintendent but he was supportive from the outset and his calm demeanor during the most stressful year in his career through COVID was appreciated not just by administrators, but by teachers and everyone.

“Ottawa Elementary really made the best of a bad situation,” Windy said. “We all appreciate the leadership he provided in the last couple of years.”

From the school board’s perspective, Board Member Maribeth Manigold said Threadgill has taught them more than any other superintendent.

“He’s just been a pleasure to work with,” Marigold said.

Threadgill said he doesn’t know exactly what his plans are once he’s hit with the extra free time that comes with retirement, but he expects he’ll end up with another job after he gets to enjoy some traveling. He’s happy he’ll now be able to make it to his son’s ballgames and won’t have to worry about working around meetings.

“I’ll joke with anyone who asks that they’ll see me working the registers at Handy Foods,” Threadgill said. “There’s plenty of jobs and opportunities out there and I’ll just take it as it comes. I know I’m going to look back on all this with fondness.”

Multiple people joked Threadgill will be back as a substitute teacher once he gets bored of all the free time. And don’t be surprised if he’s dressed in Roman attire, or having students let off rockets.