Jacksonville School District 117 will be saying farewell to a familiar face at the end of the month.
Executive Director of the District, Mike McGiles, is retiring. McGiles began as an assistant principal at Jacksonville High School in 2005.
McGiles was then promoted to principal at the high school in 2009, a position he would stay in until 2018 when he was promoted to Executive Director of Jacksonville School District 117.
District 117 Superintendent Steve Ptacek says McGiles will be deeply missed: “I’m a little emotional. We’ve had a couple of emotional moments over the last couple of weeks. Mike has been here a long time. He was the principal at JHS for years, and [spent] the last 4 years here as the Executive Director, officially the assistant superintendent. We’ve gotten a lot done, and I’ve relied on him for a lot. He’s a tremendous worker who cares about this community and cares about the kids. And, I’ve grown to consider him a very good friend so I’m going to miss him.”
McGiles has spent over 30 years in education, having previously worked in the North Greene School District as a teacher and head football coach. McGiles’ final full-time day will be June 30th.