Ted Stilwill has been engaged in the American system of education for over 40 years. He started teaching at the elementary level and was later assistant principal of a K-9 building and then an elementary principal. Ted moved to work in a district office, first heading up the district’s curriculum efforts and then becoming one of two assistants to the district superintendent. Those experiences were all in Council Bluffs, Iowa, a school district of about 10,000 students.
Ted then went to work at the Iowa Department of Education, serving the overall deputy role for about seven years and then another ten years as the Director of the Iowa Department of Education. (That Iowa title describes the role of a “state superintendent” or “commissioner” in other states.) He was first appointed to the post by a Republican Governor and was then re-appointed by a Democratic Governor. The major policy accomplishments while serving as Director included: major upgrades in teacher compensation, preparation, licensure, development and career options; an accreditation process for Area Education Agencies established a consistent set of support services for schools across the state; and advocacy and accountability for Iowa’s community colleges was strengthened by the creation of a statewide student data system for community colleges.
During all of that time, Ted was also active in the Council of Chief State School Officers organization, a collegial group of individuals with similar responsibilities across other U.S. states and territories. He was President of CCSSO and on the board of the organization for several years. He also served as treasurer of the Education Commission of the States.
After working successfully in education at the local and state levels, Ted worked for Learning Point Associates, a national not-for-profit that housed our country’s largest federal regional education lab and the organization also held dozens of consulting contracts for work at the state and local level.
Recently, Ted returned to work at the local level as CEO for Learning Community of Douglas and Sarpy Counties, a consortium of 11 school districts serving the metropolitan area of Omaha, Nebraska. The Nebraska Legislature created the Learning Community to meet the growing challenge of providing education and economic success for children from families in deep poverty, particularly by working with children birth through age eight and their families.
After retiring from the Learning Community, Ted has been serving on the board of Educational Service Unit #3 in Nebraska and serving on the Hot Shops Art Foundation Board of Directors. Informally, he still provides occasional advice and support to various state and local educational leaders.
On a personal note, I hope that I gained some perspective from my successes and failures, and, particularly, from the good people along the way. I think that I am still learning to listen. I believe that if we engage with each other about issues, we can find answers. I will put forth some ideas in this blog, but if you engage with your thoughtful comments, I promise to listen and to be influenced by your thoughts.. Given some time and effort, we just might come up with some good ideas.
Contact Ted at stilwill@gmail.com