CHAMPAIGN — Montia Gardner comes from a family of firsts. And soon she will make history in the Champaign Unit 4 Schools.
On Monday night, the District’s Board of Education unanimously voted to make Gardner the next principal of Central High School. Gardner’s time in the role will start July 1.
Gardner, who will be the first Black person to lead the school established in 1870, told the board she comes from a history-making family.
Gardner recalled her grandmother was the first Black janitor at a school in Indiana where students called her “Sapphire.” The Sapphire caricature was a popular depiction in the 1800s and mid-1900s of a loud and aggressive Black woman, whose ability to be sassy without repercussions from white society. It implied segregation and slavery were not that bad, according to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
“What was ‘Sapphire’ doing there? She was paving the way. So one day, this ‘Sapphire’ could stand and be the first African American principal of Champaign Central High School,” Gardner said in an emotional speech.
Gardner is currently the associate principal at Central. She earned a PhD in literacy from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County and has worked in education for 22 years.
Central High School Associate Principal’s Secretary Au’Riana Dunlap told the board her first conversation with Gardner was life-changing. Dunlap was substitute teaching at Central and met Gardner in the staff lounge.
“In that moment, Dr. Gardner saw the potential in me that I could never see. We only had a 30-second conversation that turned into a lifetime of connection. In the one year I have been at Central High School, Dr. Gardner has shown me nothing but compassion and willingness to push me to my fullest potential,” Dunlap said.
Dunlap said she was honored to call Gardner her boss.
Nearly 1,500 students attend Central High School. According to the Illinois State Board of Education Illinois Report Card, 61 percent of the student body is from minority communities. The school has an 80 percent graduation rate.
Unit 4 spokesperson Stacey Moore said the district checked back decades and is fairly confident Gardner would be the first Black principal at Central.
Updated 10:45 a.m. on Feb. 25 to provide attribution for Central High School never being led by a Black principal before.