Student Spotlight: Mr. Matt Rhoades, Principal
Mr. Matt J. Rhoades is the Principal and Athletic Director of the Athens Junior High School in Athens, Illinois. He originally taught 1st grade there for one year and then 3rd grade for 8 years. During that time, Matt went back to school and obtained his Master’s degree from UIS in the Educational Leadership Department and pursued an Elementary Principalship in the Jacksonville School District at Murrayville-Woodson. He was the Elementary Principal there for 4 years, when an opening occurred back in Athens, so he returned to serve as their Junior High Principal, and has been there for the past 5 years. Now, he has decided to further his education yet again and is in the Superintendent Endorsement program taking his 5th class. Besides being an educator and an administrator, Mr. Rhoades also wrote and published the book, “Tough Luck Tim and the Toilet Twister,” which is about bullying.
“The Principalship pedagogy at UIS has been very instrumental in providing a foundation for the position as a principal. Courses offered by UIS such as, Organizational Dynamics, School Law, and leadership teachings, as well as many others, helped by providing not only new knowledge but an understanding of the various facets involved in such a position.”