Decatur Schools appoint new superintendent

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Dr. Rochelle Clark, Decatur Public Schools superintendent
  • Photo: Decatur Public Schools

URBANA – Decatur Public Schools has a new superintendent.

On Tuesday night, the board of education appointed Dr. Rochelle Clark as District 61’s new leader.

Clark started her career in 1992 as a special education teacher’s aide and worked her way up to assistant principal at three Decatur schools.

She also served as assistant superintendent of Crete-Monee School District south of Chicago.

Clark plans to hold listening sessions with students, staff, and stakeholders.

She is a native of St. Louis and earned her doctoral degree in education from Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri.

With Clark’s appointment… Champaign, Urbana, Danville, and Decatur public schools are all under the leadership of Black women superintendents.

Dr. Shelia Boozer leads the Champaign Unit 4 Schools. Dr. Alicia Geddis is the Superintendent at Danville School District 118. Dr. Jennifer Ivory-Tatum is the top administrator at Urbana School District 116.

Top row: Dr. Dr. Shelia Boozer, Champaign Unit 4 Schools superintendent and Dr. Rochelle Clark, Decatur District 61 superintendent.
Bottom row: Dr. Alicia Geddis, Danville School District 118 superintendent and Dr. Jennifer Ivory-Tatum, Urbana School District #116 superintendent.
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Reginald Hardwick

Reginald Hardwick is the News & Public Affairs Director at Illinois Public Media. He oversees daily newscasts and online stories. He also manages The 21st Show, a live, weekday talk show that airs on six NPR stations throughout Illinois. He is the executive producer of IPM's annual environmental TV special "State of Change." And he is the co-creator of Illinois Soul, IPM's Black-focused audio service that launched in February 2024. Before arriving at IPM in 2019, he served as News Director at WKAR in East Lansing and spent 17 years as a TV news producer and manager at KXAS, the NBC-owned station in Dallas/Fort Worth. Reginald is the recipient of three Edward R. Murrow regional awards, seven regional Emmy awards, and multiple honors from the National Association of Black Journalists. Born in Vietnam, Reginald grew up in Colorado and is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado. Email: rh14@illinois.edu Twitter: @RNewsIPM