When Jeff Isenhower was hired in Feb. 2019 to become the superintendent of Prairieview-Ogden in the fall of 2020, he had no idea that right before he was going to take the helm a global pandemic would rock the foundation of everything from business to how a district provides an education.
What he did know, though, is that he wanted to work with and for kids.
Thirty years ago, the Mahomet native found himself teaching at a baseball and basketball camp in New Hampshire.
“I was 22,” he said. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, and I fell in love with working with kids.”
The experience wasn’t quite enough to get him where he is today, though. It wasn’t until Isenhower spent a year in Chicago working in the restaurant industry that he had the epiphany that led to him to sell everything he owned to go back to school.
Perhaps he still held a little skepticism. He decided to major in secondary education with a focus in math, just in case something didn’t work out.
“Then I could be an actuary or pretty much anything I wanted to with a math degree,” he said. “I always had Plan B in place that way.”
Isenhower knew that he and his wife, who grew up in Danville, wanted to be close to home. The administration certificate that he added onto his degree landed him an assistant principal and athletic director position at Urbana High School.
Isenhower wanted to cut back on the 80-hour work weeks in order to start a family. A principal position opened at Prairieview-Ogden, and he thought he might see what opportunity was there.
“I don’t know why they’d hire me because all my experiences in secondary,” he said. “And this was an elementary position but they hired me for some reason. Maybe it’s because I drove a pickup to the interview and every single person interviewing me was in a pickup,” he said jokingly.
His eyes were set on five years with the district. Now, 14 years later, he will lead the district through the pandemic and whatever else comes their way.
“I like knowing all the families,” he said. “I know the grandparents, the aunts and uncles, the cousins. It’s a community, which is fantastic when it comes to working with kids; you’ve really got to have everybody.”
When Isenhower is not spending his time doing paperwork, he will work to teach children to respect each other and have fun.
“You need to give life your best effort because you only have one shot at it,” he said.
Working with former Superintendent Vic White over the last year taught Isenhower about the rhythm of being a superintendent, the things that need to be done and when they need to be completed.
“I probably have 10 to 12 different projects going on right now,” he said. “And that’s just in one day.
“Of course this COVID thing hasn’t helped anything.
“But I know this is not unusual year. It would have been busy in a normal year. But this is crazy busy and I just know that if I can survive this year I’m golden.”
White let Isenhower slowly take over responsibilities prior to his July 1 start date. He was able to take some of the responsibilities as the district shut down in March, even speaking at board meetings as the superintendent prior to White’s official retirement date.
“I’ve still got him on speed dial and he still helps out,” Isenhower said. “He’s always checking in and sending me ideas.”
Like many other districts throughout the state of Illinois, Prairieview-Ogden will begin the school year with a hybrid learning model. There will be options for students to learn virtually, then they will also bring students into the schools two days a week to maintain numbers for appropriate social distancing on the bus and in the classroom.
His vision for Prairieview-Ogden is simple: students, families and community.
“The communities built these schools, and I want to keep it community-oriented,” he said.
“That’s the strength of this district, the families. And so I’m not going to change that. That’s what drew me here, that’s what’s kept me here. So, my vision moving forward is to remain family-oriented.
“Hopefully all the families feel like they can call me and say, “Hey, Jeff what’s going on with this?’ Honestly, I kind of cringe when they call me Mr. Isenhower because I’m a small town boy. I was a half mile away from being a Fisher Bunny.
“I want them to know that we are all in this together.”
