Regional Offices of Education 33 and 26 hold a partnership, called a professional development consortium, that coordinates their efforts to professionally grow educators within the ROEs.
The two entities represent districts in eight counties including Knox and many neighboring counties.
The offices have a consortium between them for the purposes of professional development for educators, so they created this new role and hired experienced educator Julia Burns.
She has a range of experience in education going back her time teaching middle school in Texas, to teaching at Carl Sandburg College and schools in Macomb. Most recently she’s been principal at West Central Middle School in Stronghurst.
She says that the move to PD coordinator is a natural evolution in her career. Burn says she views herself as an “instruction leader.”
She moved from teacher to administrator to be able to influence more students and in this new role she believes she’ll have an even broader reach.
Burns will provide in-service training and staff development opportunities, schedule administrator academies, create a regional professional development plan and inform the regions on the latest developments in school improvement.
ROE 33 Superintendent Jodi Scott says that Burns hiring is an “important step” for the consortium, saying that she will “help us ensure our programs are helping educators lead children to their full potential.”
