WEBB ELECTED ILLINOIS RURAL SCHOOLS PRESIDENT

Goreville School Superintendent Dr. Steve Webb has been elected President of the Association of Illinois Rural and Small Schools (AIRSS).  At their spring meeting, the AIRSS Board of Directors elected Webb, who has been an AIRSS Board Member for the past two years, as President of the Association for a two year term.  “I am very proud of the quality of education, as well as the quality of life overall that our small, rural schools provides for our children,” said Webb, “It’s an honor to serve this Association as its President and I look forward to working with our state legislature to hopefully enlighten them on the immeasurable value of receiving an education in a small, rural school.”  Dr. Webb grew up in rural Goreville, attending the school district he now heads.  He has also been Superintendent in Thompsonville and Principal/Teacher in Joppa, IL, both rural small schools.  He is also currently a Board Member on the Illinois Association of School Administrators where he serves as Treasurer, former Chairman of the Illinois State Beta Club Board of Directors (2007-2010), and an Associate Professor of Education Administration for McKendree University.  Webb said that he will strive to make sure those who are making decisions affecting thousands of Illinois schoolchildren, completely understand that as they deal with financial strain, the trend seems to be heading toward the belief that greater “quantity” provides more “efficiency” when in fact, he suggests that education is not simply about being efficient, “It’s about creating sustainable quality of life from birth until death and that is exactly what our rural schools do each and every day.” Webb stated, “The focus should be on finding ways to change our large, congested, and unsafe school environments into small, more manageable systems where students are not known simply by scanning their barcode or reading their namebadge.”