Skyward®'s 2018 Leader in Excellence Award
Congratulations to the Skyward® Leader in Excellence Award winners! Please click here for the full article of winners.
Illinois is proud to recognize the Illinois LIE winners! Scott Anthony from District 230 and Stephanie Kaack from Manteno CUSD No. 5. Congratulations to these outstanding leaders who were recognized at iCon in February 2018.
Scott Anthony
Management Information Systems Manager
Consolidated High School District 230, Illinois
For the past six years, Scott Anthony has been responsible for using Skyward® and enterprise solutions to efficiently integrate and improve multiple aspects of instruction and business for Consolidated High School District 230. When changes to Skyward® need to be made within the district, Scott takes the lead in delegating these responsibilities to district staff.
Under Scott’s leadership, Skyward® has become the “glue” of day-to-day operations. District 230 uses Skyward® in creative ways, such as managing their Advisory Period 2, which is devoted to social-emotional learning. The district also uses Skyward® to help organize its Relay for Life event registration. Student and Family Access have made an extraordinary impact on learning: 94% of parents log in more than once per year (over half log in more than 20 times), and over 1.1 million emails were generated to parents and students in the past year. To put this in perspective, the district enrollment stands at just over 7,500 students—that's about 146 emails per student last year!
A team-oriented leader, Scott inspires infectious success within the district and beyond—even taking part in site visits to help other districts replicate processes and implement a better experience. Scott serves as a board member of the Illinois Steering Committee and organizes annual regional Skyward® review sessions. He is also on the Illinois SkyCon Conference committee and has presented at SkyCon and iCon. His leadership has influenced the district’s many awards and frequent media recognition for being among the most rigorous high schools in the nation.
"Scott is a collaborative and approachable leader who is being recognized for his knowledge amongst colleagues,” says John Connolly, chief technology officer. “His willingness to help out other districts and network has been contagious.”
Stephanie Kaack
Data Coordinator
Manteno CUSD 5, Illinois
Stephanie Kaack made history this year with four separate nominations for the Leader in Excellence award. According to her colleagues, Stephanie never shies away from troubleshooting just about any issue with Skyward® the district encounters. She is a leader for support staff at all levels of the district, and along the way she encourages staff to embrace every aspect of Skyward®—but she doesn’t stop there.
Stephanie is always available to train staff, identify problems, and follow up to see how Skyward® solutions are working. She’s willing to get answers and show people how Skyward® is an indispensable tool to make their jobs easier. On the student side, Stephanie has helped teachers get on board with online grading, tracking students, tracking discipline, modernizing attendance, producing report cards, and scheduling counseling. On the business side, purchasing, payroll, tracking staff professional development, and many more activities have been streamlined through Stephanie's influence and knowledge of Skyward® technology. Her expertise in data mining and custom forms have essentially tailored Skyward® to the exact needs of the district.
Outside the district, Stephanie serves as the Social Networking Coordinator for the Illinois Steering Committee and has presented at Illinois SkyCon and iCon.
“Stephanie is all things Skyward® to everyone in our district,” raves Tom Steele, technology director. “She knows the product inside and out—probably better than most Skyward® support staff!”
