Mrs. Jill Dillard is the Assistant Principal here at Jacksonville High School. She received a BA of Secondary Math Education at SIU-E and a MA of Educational Administration at UIS. She taught math for nine years and has been an administrator for twelve years, ten of which have been here at JHS. Originally, Mrs. Dillard studied engineering and based her choice on the fact that she had so many math credits. She “accidentally” picked education and has loved it ever since! Her family runs a concrete business, and she says she might have joined if she hadn’t discovered teaching. The idea of being a realtor also appealed to her, but thankfully education won and we are grateful for it!
Dillard began teaching at the alternative school (Lafayette Academy) and then proceeded to teach math at JHS beginning in 1995. She left for two years from 2001 to 2003 to be the principal of Illinois School for the Visually Impaired. After this brief move, Dillard returned to JHS as the assistant principal. Although she misses teaching, she occasionally has the opportunity to help students with math.
Her main responsibilities include special education, attendance and discipline, PBIS, custodians and maintenance. In addition to all of this, she is also the Two Rivers Region Director for the Illinois Principals Association. Her average day is “very busy, unpredictable, and never boring.” The hardest part of Dillard’s job is “knowing that some barriers for students are beyond their control and can’t be helped by anyone.” On the other hand, when asked what her favorite part of being assistant principal was she said, “I love getting to know students beyond the classroom… especially working with students who struggle to make good choices at this point in their lives.” JHS is lucky to have an administrator like Mrs. Dillard who cares about the students here and tries to guide them down the right path.