PEORIA, Ill. – Children will become better readers if Peoria County’s new regional superintendent of schools has his way.
Dr. George McKenna was promoted from assistant superintendent after Beth Crider retired last month.
Besides reading, McKenna said his top priorities are chronic absenteeism, students getting the best teachers and best instructional practices, as well as school safety.
McKenna tells 25 News he wants to provide mentors to help eliminate barriers to success.
“We’re currently working on a grant through the state where we’ll place a student support specialist in schools,” McKenna said. “That person will be an employee with us, working with the school district and at-risk youth.”
Some work on this starts next week, with a Literacy Summit coming up at Illinois Central College in Peoria.
There will be breakout sessions discussing the best practices for educators and librarians to increase reading skills for students and to support each other.
“We’re putting some of the best literacy experts in Illinois,” he claimed. “This will be with teachers and other community members, it’s for them to develop relationships where they all have someone to lean on in a moment when they need it. ”
McKenna said this is the second year for the summit, as it was originally supposed to be a one-and-done, but the demand and interest led to another year, and he hopes this becomes an annual event.
The summit will be held on Wednesday, June 11, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at ICC’s Peoria campus.
Registration is full.
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