Stuart Serves as “Principal for a Day” at Local Schools

COLLINSVILLE, Ill. – After supporting an education funding reform plan that gives every school district in the Metro East more state funding than in previous years, former teacher and state Rep. Katie Stuart, D-Edwardsville, spent time at local schools as “Principal for a Day,” meeting and shadowing the teachers, administrators and students.

“Providing adequate funding for our local schools is important to me as a former educator and as a parent of two children in our public school system,” said Stuart. Taking the time to visit schools through programs like Principal for a Day just reinforces my commitment to fighting for our kids, teachers and communities. Being ranked on the bottom in terms of equitable school state funding is unacceptable. The passage of the school funding bill this summer is the first step in making Illinois a leader in fair school funding.”

Recently, Stuart spent time at the Granite City School District, visiting both the elementary and high school campuses where she had the opportunity to shadow a class in the vocation program that annually builds a house from the ground up, teaching students invaluable life and career skills.

“My visit to the Granite City district was enjoyable, and I thank Superintendent Greenwald for arranging the day. I saw both ends of the K-12 spectrum by visiting a Pre-K/Kindergarten attendance center as well as the high school campus and across the board I saw dedicated teachers and staff members who work each and every day to provide the high quality education all students deserve,” said Stuart. “I went to the build site for the building trades class where students build an entire home from the ground up every year. Vocational programs are a vital piece of the education puzzle. Hopefully we can start to bring vocational education back to more schools in our area and prepare students for all types of career fields after high school.”