Joe O’Neil’s job at Jacksonville High School is Special Education Department Chair. In his words, “I oversee students who have Individual Education Plans (IEP’s) and the programs that those students may be involved in. I attend all student-parent meetings on a daily basis.” He also has the responsibility of keeping track of his own group of students and monitoring their progress to make sure they are “college or career ready.” He went to high school at Antioch Community High School in the Northeast part of IL, which contained a student body of 1,850 students. (Can you imagine?!) He then attended the College of Lake County and transferred to EIU after completing his Associates Degree. He graduated from EIU with a Bachelor of Science in Education.

O’Neil has worked at JHS for a grand total of twenty years, and if you spend just five minutes with him, you’ll see that he is very committed to his job and students. When asked what his favorite part of his job was, there was no hesitation as he answered, “The bonds that I form with the students at JHS. In 20 years, many students have come through the doors, and I still continue to have contact with them after they leave. It is really special when you get to see that student years after graduation and have him/her tell you what they are doing.” He has had other job offers at other schools, but he has always chosen to stay at JHS. His favorite part of high school was drafting and attending a vocational school that was a real-world experience. When I asked O’Neil if there was something he wished students knew about him, he answered, “I’m pretty much an open book. There’s not much students don’t know about me. I guess it would be that when I leave here every day I still think of the kids here at JHS and how important they are, and I want them to succeed at whatever they do.” If that doesn’t show you how dedicated he is, I don’t know what would. I get to see firsthand how compassionate he is at JHS, and students here are very fortunate to have him in their support system.