Gary Miller - Interim Superintendent:
I want to say how excited I am to be at Fieldcrest CUSD #6. Education has always been my passion.
As a 10-year-old I had a school set up in my basement and my brother and sister were my students. Then as I finished high school I got sidetracked with life, but that’s a story for later. At 25 I woke up and realized I needed to get back to school and realize my dream of becoming a teacher. It is never too late!
I was scheduled to graduate in December and with no teaching jobs in the area I headed to Texas where I was offered a sixth-grade reading position. I was hired prior to receiving my diploma and taught there from November until June. I did return briefly to receive my diploma, by the way. My parents had requested that if a position opened up back home that I would apply so I would be closer to home. Sure enough, a second-grade position opened up at Warsaw Elementary and I reluctantly applied. As I moved home, I took my teaching supplies to my new school and was greeted at the door by the principal. He told me he was so excited that he had moved me from second grade to first grade. PANIC set in for the whole summer. I taught first grade for five years and loved it. Then I was moved to seventh/eighth grade Language Arts for a year. I settled into fifth and sixth grade Language Arts for 16 years. I did many other things while at Warsaw, including High School Yearbook and K-12 drama to name a few.
In 2005, I finished my Masters and became principal at Dallas City Elementary for 6 years. It was a small PreK-8 district in west central Illinois.
In 2011 I made another career change when I was asked to apply for a Superintendent job in Noble, in southern Illinois. The district had 483 students and it was like walking back to my childhood school. It was my dream job, but the district was in a financial strain and consolidated with another district to become a county school.
In 2013 I was employed at Momence and finished my career in 2017. Retirement has been so much fun. I have kept very busy with a number of things: *tutored for Sylvan Learning Center; *taught psychology within the Texas prison system; *opened a bed and breakfast; *learned to garden in south Texas (which has been a challenge!); *cooked and catered several parties and non-profit events. *two interims: Watseka and St. George Schools.
My latest endeavor - playing baritone saxophone in the community band! To quote a friend: “He has trouble standing still!” I’ve been called crazy for returning to work as a Superintendent. You can call it crazy but I believe you always return to your passion.
During these trying times it is my goal to support students, staff and community and to encourage anyway I can. Please feel free to contact me and I will respond as soon as I can.