Kim Gordon knows Joliet schools from both sides of the desk

Some administrators might find the last first day of school a bittersweet one, but not Kim Gordon.

“I’m not thinking about the end of the right now. I’m focused on day one,” Gordon, principal of Woodland Elementary School in Joliet said. “I’m focused on doing my job until the last day.”

Gordon has spent 33 years working at Joliet Public Schools District 86, the same district she attended since kindergarten. Gordon started at Farragut Elementary School, then went to Thomas Jefferson Elementary School and then Hufford Junior High School.

She recalled her past first days of school, as a student.

“I remember being excited about meeting my new teacher, and thinking about which of my friends would be in my class,” Gordon said. “When I was in fifth grade, everyone wanted to be in Mr. D’s class and I was. Michael Delaney: he was the best.”

Delaney was a teacher at Thomas Jefferson who retired in 2008, according to Sandy Zalewski, spokesperson for District 86.

She graduated from Joliet West High School and then moved onto Joliet Junior College and Governor State University. Gordon said both her parents were teachers so education was a natural fit for her.

“I grew up helping out with paper grading, organizing, bulletin boards decorating,” Gordon said. “So it was in the blood.”

During her teacher preparation, Gordon did some of her clinical reviews in Delaney’s classroom and saw him “operate from the other side of the desk, so to speak,” she said

Staying at District 86 was not her master plan — although Gordon said it might make a better story if it was — but her practical need for a job became her greatest blessing.

“It was two weeks before school and I still didn’t have a job,” Gordon said. “And Mom was saying to me, ‘You need to get crack-a-lackin.’”

Gordon said she interviewed at Hufford and “talked herself into a job” teaching eighth grade.

“I clearly remember that first day,” Gordon said. “I was terrified. I was teaching eighth graders who were closer to my age than my younger brother. I remember standing in front of them holding a piece of paper and my hands were just shaking. But I got with it pretty quickly.”

Gordon said her “big picture” mindset led her into administration. She understood that teachers “aren’t always happy with the way things are” so she decided to “put her money where her mouth was.”

“If I think I can do a better job, I’d better get up there and do it,” Gordon said.

Gordon said she’s spent 17 years as an administrator at District 86: Four at Marycrest Early Childhood Learning Center; eight at Lynne Thigpen Elementary School, and she is starting her fifth year as principal at Woodland.

As an administrator, Gordon has high expectations, for herself and for her teachers. But she also kept the needs of teachers in the forefront, often performing jobs for them behind-the-scenes to save them time and energy, she said.

“A servant leader — that’s what I’ve aspired to be,” Gordon said.

Gordon is certainly aware of the teacher shortage — across the U.S. and in Will County — but doesn’t have an easy answer for resolving it. The world has changed, she said.

“Teaching is difficult. It’s hard. It asks a lot out of you,” Gordon said. “You cannot do a good job from 8 to 3; you’ve got to put in the time outside those hours. It’s tough, but it’s the most rewarding job in the world and it’s a passion…very rewarding. But I’m not going to lie. It’s a lot of work and I don’t know the generation coming up is prepared to take that on.”

Although Gordon is currently focused on the 2022-2023 school year, she said she might get “more emotional” as her education career nears its end.

“I feel very blessed to be able to serve in the community where I live,” Gordon said. “I’ve been in Joliet my entire life, and I love Joliet. It sometimes gets a bad rap but I’ve never that felt way; I’ve never wanted to leave. And I think it’s important that we retain qualified, passionate teachers who are passionate about this community. It’s not a paycheck.”

Theresa Rouse, the superintendent of Joliet Public Grade Schools District 86, praised Gordon’s dedication and, in an email, called her a “great leader” and a mentor to new administrators, someone who “always puts the needs of students first.”

“She will definitely be missed when she retires at the end of this school year,” Rouse said in the email.

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Principal Kim Gordon greets students as they arrive on the first day of school at Woodland Elementary School in Joliet. Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2022, in Joliet. (Gary Middendorf - gmiddendorf@shawmedia.com/Gary Middendorf)