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U-46 Team Member Jill Flanagan
JILL FLANAGAN, ENGLISH TEACHER AT BARTLETT HIGH SCHOOL
What are some of your daily work responsibilities?
Working with students and colleagues.
How long have you worked for U-46?
Twenty-one years.
What is it like to work for the District where you attended school and from which you graduated and what does it mean to you?
I have a relationship with U-46 that goes back to 1975. I know a lot of the District’s history—it is amazing to see how much we have grown in 45 years. I love that I am giving back to the community where I was raised.
Which U-46 schools did you attend?
Streamwood Elementary School (Kindergarten), Oakhill Elementary School (first through third), Bartlett Elementary School (fourth through sixth), Tefft Middle School, and Elgin High School.
What year did you graduate from high school?
1988.
What was your favorite subject and why?
I liked English and History, but band is where I met a lot of my friends.
Who was your favorite teacher and why?
Too many to count: Mrs. Pomeroy, Mrs. Schwarzmann, Ms. Strom, Ms. Britton, Mr. Wallace, Mrs. Roll, Mr. Leff, Ma Fox, and both the Azingers.
Please share a favorite memory from your time as a student in U-46.
When I was in seventh grade my social studies teacher, Mr. Seloover, pulled four or five of us out of regular class to work on an archeology project. He had filled a fish tank with dirt and layers of debris that we charted and graphed like real archeologists. We made poster boards of each layer‘s debris and had to come up with theories about how those people might have lived. On the last day we presented our findings and theories to all of his classes.
Please share a favorite memory of working in U-46?
My favorite memory was during the 2009-2010 school year. I was the newspaper advisor at Bartlett High School, and we played a joke on the editor-in-chief on April Fool’s Day. She was a very serious journalist, and she now works for the Wall Street Journal in NYC. The editorial board and I pretended we wanted that month’s in-depth center spread to be all about clown college—makeup challenges, the dangers of wearing big shoes, how to pack many clowns into a small car. At first, she was like, “Maybe an article, but the entire center spread?” We kept insisting it was a great idea, and she was getting so frustrated. That’s when our features editor, Brooke, looked over at her and said, “Hey, Allison—April Fool’s!” I’ve never laughed so hard in my life. I miss those kids so much, and I am so proud of them to this day.
Briefly describe your post-secondary college and/or career experience.
I earned two Bachelor's degrees from Northern Illinois University in 1994, started teaching in U-46 in 2000, and earned my masters in educational leadership from Concordia in 2007.
What important life or academic lesson did you learn in U-46?
I learned how important it was to be a critical thinker, reader, and writer—to have an educated opinion and stand up for myself and my beliefs.