East Aurora's David Ballard recognized for work as school administrator at annual Kane County education awards
Along with other teachers and staff from districts in the county, Ballard, supported by family and district employees, received an award by the county Regional Office of Education on May 2 at the Q Center in St. Charles, according to a press release from the Kane County Regional Office of Education.
The Kane County Educator of the Year Awards are a reminder of 'what is worth advocating for in education,' Regional Superintendent for Kane County Patricia Dal Santo said in the office's news release.
Nominations for the award, the press release said, are reviewed by a group of student teachers, retired teachers, university representatives, business representatives, national board certified teachers and Kane County Regional Office of Education staff members.
Gemma Gurney of Central High School, part of Central Unit School District 301, took the top award, while a number of other teachers and staff — from districts in Aurora, Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles and more — also went home with awards.
Ballard has worked in education for 30 years, he said, and spent 13 of those years at East Aurora. He previously worked as a principal at Johnson Elementary and Fred Rodgers Magnet Academy, as well as served as the district's executive director of secondary education.
Now, as the associate superintendent of staff and student services, Ballard oversees the district's human resources department and student services, which includes special education and related services. A lot of his work involves recruitment, hiring and retention of teachers and other staff, he said. But his team also, for example, helped plan a district-level awards event held on May 8 that recognized staff members and retirees.
The team Ballard oversees put together a book with recommendation letters from teachers, staff, parents and students that was submitted to the Kane County Regional Office of Education as part of his nomination.
He said it was emotional to read the letters written in support of him.
'I think I got about halfway through and I was getting a little choked up, and another administrator came and knocked on my office (door),' he recalled. 'I said, 'Oh, thank you, gosh, I'm glad you're here … I was about to just break down.'
And he said letters from students from his time as a principal stood out.
'I always tried to be visible as a principal,' Ballard told The Beacon-News on Friday. 'I never wanted them to view having to come to the principal or talk to the principal as being a bad thing.'
Nominees for the Regional Office of Education awards at East Aurora are collected via an internal, anonymous vote, according to district officials. A committee within the district determines one person to be nominated for each award category, which is then submitted by the HR department to the Kane County Regional Office of Education.
But, though his team is responsible for submitting the nominations, Ballard didn't know that he would be chosen by the Regional Office of Education this year, and said he was surprised when his name was called.
Ballard was not the only nominee from East Aurora — three teachers and two other staff members were also nominated for different categories, according to the Kane County ROE's website.
Now, his work in the district will continue on as usual — if not busier, Ballard said, noting that the end of the school year and summer are the busiest times for recruiting and hiring staff for the coming school year.
And, as he works with his team on hiring for next year, among other responsibilities, Ballard noted that his win this year was a recognition of a group effort.
'I didn't feel it was just my award,' he said on Friday. 'I felt it was something that recognized all of us collectively.'
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