At the end of the 2013-2014 school year, Jacksonville High School was sad to lose its Vice-Principal, Sara Genetin-Pilawa. The good news, however, was that she was replaced by English teacher Tim Chipman. Though he has big shoes to fill, Mr. Chipman is up to the task and has so far done an excellent job. Rain or shine, he is outside every morning to greet students with a smile. In fact, he would say that this is one of his favorite parts of his job…making students smile and laugh.
Mr. Chipman was born and raised in Jacksonville. After graduating from JHS in 1997, he attended Illinois College, receiving a degree in education. The fact that he always enjoyed school and loved books motivated him to become a teacher. He had the opportunity to teach for a year in Riga, Latvia. His next teaching job was as a 7th and 8th grade Language Arts teacher at Turner Junior High. In 2012, Mr. Chipman made the move to JHS where he taught Composition and English. One of the best aspects of his teaching has always been “seeing students respond to knowledge.” Laughter plays an important part in his classroom too as he tries to make learning fun. Students seem to respond well to his upbeat approach.
Mr. Chipman is currently the Vice-Principal here at JHS. His favorite part of this new job is contact with all the students. As he sees it, the school is just one big classroom. He still works hard to make everyone feel comfortable and make their day a little brighter. Whenever I see any one speaking to Mr. Chipman, there are always smiles. I’m sure Mr. Chipman is missed in the classroom, but now everyone in the school can benefit from his contagious enthusiasm. JHS is lucky to have him!