New Belleville superintendent wants to spend time in your kid’s classroom

Janice Kunz says her favorite thing to do is read with students.

Kunz isn’t the type of superintendent who sits behind a desk for a majority of the day. She said she’d much rather be in the classroom interacting with students.

“Although a lot of the job of the superintendent is sitting behind a desk, you make the biggest impression not in your office,” she said. “I’d rather be with kids; work with kids and read with kids and observe kids, have conversations with parents, because that’s when you truly find...what you can do to help them.”

Kunz is the new superintendent at Signal Hill School District in Belleville. She was drawn to the 340-student district after serving as superintendent for three years at a rural district north of Springfield.

“It was very close-knit,” she said of Greenview School District, similar to Signal Hill.

Kunz was also interested in moving back “home.” She and her husband, Dale, grew up in Trenton. Both attended Wesclin High School and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

Kunz knew she wanted to be a teacher since she was in third grade. She recalled playing school as a child.

“I’ve always loved school,” she said. “I’ve always had a positive experience with school, and I just wanted that to continue. Even when I taught school, I continued to go to school. ...There’s so many things out there that you can learn.”

Kunz began her career as a teacher’s aide before becoming a third-grade teacher in Aviston. “I’ve kind of done a little of everything in education,” she said.

It was at the encouragement of retired Aviston superintendent Ben Fuehne that Kunz decided to become a school administrator. He told her: “There’s other things you can do to make a bigger impact.”

“He was the one that planted the seed — you can do more,” she said. “I really respected him, and I took that to heart.”

Kunz isn’t the only new face at Signal Hill School. Brooke Wiemers is the school’s new principal this year, and the school also has a new bookkeeper, Whitney Schoenbeck.

“I feel very fortunate. The three of us are experienced in our field,” Kunz said. “We know our craft. The challenge for us is learning Signal Hill, learning the personalities, traditions and the needs of the district, which is so important. Making relationships and building that foundation is huge.”

She enjoys learning something new about the district everyday whether its how the phone system works, the layout of the school or meeting a new family.

“Everything is exciting for the three of us,” Kunz said. “I think that makes coming to school each day more exciting for us.”

Kunz and Wiemers along with other Signal Hill staff members visited families at their homes last week.

“It was interesting,” Kunz said. “It gives you a perspective of our kids and where they live.”

This story was originally published August 17, 2016 at 7:00 AM with the headline "New Belleville superintendent wants to spend time in your kid’s classroom."