Benton’s Kelly Stewart named superintendent of the year by IASA

Staff Report

Benton Consolidated High School Superintendent Kelly Stewart is the 2014 Illinois Superintendent of the Year.

Stewart was selected for the honor by the Illinois Association of School Administrators and received the award Saturday at the Joint Annual Conference in Chicago cosponsored by the IASA, Illinois Association of School Boards and the Illinois Association of School Business Officials.

Kelly Stewart

“Dr. Stewart is an educator who has dedicated her professional career to the vision of the IASA, which is ‘Maximum Educational Success for All Students,’” IASA Executive Director Brent Clark said in a news release. “Her work in the Benton district is a testament to that and she is most deserving of this honor.”

Stewart, a 1977 graduate of BCHS who earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees and PhD at SIU, has been an educator for 30 years, serving the last 12 as superintendent of the BCHS district.

“Receiving this award is a tremendous honor that has flooded me with a wide range of emotions including: shock, humility, elation, and affirmation. The most powerful of these has been affirmation,” she said. “My

main goals in life have been simple: to make a difference and to make my parents proud of me. This honor is the ultimate pat on the back for a job well done and the fact that is comes from my peers gives it great significance. While I am humbled to be the one to hold the title, it represents all of us that work tirelessly for the children of Illinois daily.”

Stewart was nominated for the honor based on a number of accomplishments in the district during her tenure, according to the news release, including increased opportunities for students through curriculum development and providing financial stability through innovative leadership that resulted in an agreement with a new coal mine to provide an in-kind donation in lieu of property taxes that were going to be abated.

That agreement will earn the district more than $4 million over the next 12 years.

Stewart is also active in the community as a member of the Benton Rotary Club and the Benton Lions Club. She previously served on the St. Joseph Catholic Church Finance Council and the Williamson County Child Advocacy Center Board.

The Illinois Superintendent of the Year award comes with a $1,000 scholarship for a high school senior of high academic and moral character. Stewart will choose a scholarship recipient from BCHS in the spring.

She is also be in the running for the American Association of School Administrators National Superintendent of the Year award to be announced at the national conference in February.