SchoolStory by ROE #30
SchoolStory is a ten-episode podcast series brought to you by Matthew Hickam, Regional Superintendent of ROE #30. The project is the audio companion piece to SchoolStory Magazine, and is intended to create greater awareness of our schools in the public mind and to start important conversations with and between members of our communities. SchoolStory is produced by Journey12, whose mission is to create greater connection between local schools and the communities they serve. In this series, we explore the role public schools play—not just in educating children, but in holding our communities together.
Recorded across Southern Illinois and hosted by Craig Williams, these conversations bring together superintendents, regional leaders, educators, and partners who are doing the quiet, complicated work of leading schools in a time of change. This is not a podcast about slogans or silver bullets. It’s about proximity. Stewardship. Dignity. And the deeply human decisions that shape what school feels like for students, families, and communities long before the data ever catches up.
Across the series, we explore why small schools still matter in an era of consolidation, how collaboration strengthens—not weakens—local identity, and what it really means to prepare students for a workforce that no longer fits a single narrative. We talk candidly about the future of teaching, the evolving convergence of trades and technology, and the invisible labor schools carry as hubs of care, connection, and continuity.
You’ll hear honest conversations about equity and access as lived experiences, not abstractions. About leading amid public pushback without losing integrity. About mental health as essential to learning. About special education as a promise, not a program. And throughout it all, we return to a central truth: when schools don’t tell their stories, something else fills that space—and it’s rarely complete or fair.
SchoolStory exists to share the important discussions local district leaders are having with one another—openly, thoughtfully, and across district lines—so communities can better understand what’s happening inside their schools, why it matters, and who it’s for. These are conversations rooted in Southern Illinois, but the questions they raise—about trust, belonging, leadership, and the future of public education—resonate far beyond any one region.
At its heart, SchoolStory is an act of stewardship. A belief that schools are not just institutions, but human systems. And that telling their stories—carefully, consistently, and with integrity—is essential to the health of the communities they serve.
We hope you’ll enjoy hearing from this group of hardworking leaders — all of whom are our Southern Illinois neighbors — from across the Region.
SchoolStory by ROE #30
The Heart of the Community — Schools as Far More Than Classrooms
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
When we talk about schools, we often default to the obvious things — classrooms, curricula, test scores, and calendars. But anyone who has spent real time inside a school knows that what happens there reaches far beyond the bell schedule.
Schools are where communities gather. They’re where relationships form across generations. They’re where empathy is practiced, dignity is extended, and care shows up in ways that rarely make headlines.
In this episode, we’re joined by Kris Mason, Superintendent of Giant City School District, and Diana Rea, Superintendent of Du Quoin Unit District 300 — two leaders who understand, deeply, that schools don’t sit inside communities. They are the communities they serve.
You’ll hear stories about food baskets quietly assembled for families in need…
Middle schoolers moved to tears after visiting residents in a nursing home…
Alumni returning to hallways that still feel like home…
And educators wearing a dozen invisible hats — not because it’s in a job description, but because it’s what the moment calls for.
This is a conversation about schools as hubs of connection, compassion, and continuity — places where the work of education blends seamlessly with the work of being human.