Kathryn E. Jennings has been appointed to the role of regional superintendent of the Regional Office of Education #33, serving Henderson, Knox, Mercer, and Warren Counties effective July 1. She will succeed the current regional superintendent, Jodi L. Scott, as she retires from the position.
Jennings has been with the Regional Office of Education #33, serving alongside Scott and assistant superintendent Lori Loving. Since July 1, 2021, she has served as the Director of ROE Services and the Education for Employment System Director of the Delabar Career and Technical Education System.
The regional superintendent of schools is the chief administrative officer of a Regional Office of Education and the only elected education professional office in Illinois. ROEs are essential support offices partnering with the Illinois State Board of Education to support local school districts.
Jennings, 39, is a resident of Abingdon. She grew up in Oquawka, attending Union Elementary until moving to Avon in sixth grade. She graduated from Avon High School in 2004 and earned her Bachelor of Arts in English Education in 2008 from Culver-Stockton College. She started her teaching career in the fall of 2008 and is completing her 17th year as an educator.
Jennings is an alumna of Western Illinois University with a Master of Science degree in Education as a reading specialist in 2012 and a second Master of Science degree in Educational Leadership in 2017 for principal licensure. In 2023, she completed the superintendent program, earning her superintendent’s license. She is currently completing her Doctoral degree in Educational Leadership.
Throughout her career, she has taught K-12 in some capacity: high school English at ROWVA and Abingdon-Avon; 9-11th grade reading and served as a K-12th grade reading specialist, literacy coach, and RTI coordinator for both Monmouth-Roseville and Abingdon-Avon school districts; Nielson Elementary School Principal; Lombard Middle School Dean of Students; and Curriculum Specialist for Dunlap School District. She also coached cheerleading and volleyball and sponsored many extracurricular activities as a teacher.
Her husband of 16 years is Greg Jennings, a Knox County Sheriff’s Department Sergeant of Investigations, and they have three children: son, Collin (15); son, Connor (12); and daughter, Camdyn (11).
