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Dr. Jennifer Garrison, President
Dr. Jennifer Garrison will serve a two year term beginning December 1, 2022 as the President of the Association of Illinois Rural and Small Schools.
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Dr. Garrison is the current Superintendent of the Vandalia Community Unit School District #203, and is in her fourteenth year as an Illinois Superintendent. She is a 1995 graduate of Vandalia Schools and has come home to proudly serve and represent her community. She has served The Association of Illinois Rural and Small Schools for over a decade.
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She is serving her first term on the IL Board of Higher Education. The rural voice is reflected in the IBHE Strategic Plan which is of great significance for our rural communities as we expand college and career pathways including dual credit and Career and Technical Education.
Dr. Garrison was a leader of the Funding Illinois’ Future Coalition and the Fix the Formula Campaign advocating for a new equitable school funding formula which led to the passage of the Evidence- Based Funding for Student Success Act. She has been a committee member for IASA’s Vision 20/20 since its inception in 2013 working on the IL Balanced Accountability Model which was the blueprint for the Every Student Succeeds Act for Illinois.
Dr. Garrison has served as a Principal for Ramsey C.U.S.D. #204 and was an elementary teacher for Highland C.U.S.D. #5 where she also achieved her National Board Certification. Jennifer is a proud veteran, serving nine years in the IL Army National Guard and achieved the rank of Sergeant