Maj. Ivy Stampley, retired Army officer, was approved for hire by the Kankakee School Board on Monday to become Kankakee High School's Senior Army JROTC Instructor. READ MORE.
Maj. Ivy Stampley, retired Army officer, was approved for hire by the Kankakee School Board on Monday to become Kankakee High School's Senior Army JROTC Instructor.
Maj. Ivy Stampley, retired Army officer, was approved for hire by the Kankakee School Board on Monday to become Kankakee High School's Senior Army JROTC Instructor. READ MORE.
Maj. Ivy Stampley, retired Army officer, was approved for hire by the Kankakee School Board on Monday to become Kankakee High School's Senior Army JROTC Instructor.
KANKAKEE — Kankakee High School’s Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program is set to continue under new leadership.
The Kankakee School Board on Monday approved the hire of Maj. Ivy Stampley, who retired from nearly 24 years of service in the U.S. Army in 2015, as the district’s next JROTC Army Instructor.
She will earn a salary of $105,000.
Stampley has a doctoral degree in educational leadership from Concordia University Chicago, as well as a master’s degree in environment management and bachelor’s degree in political science, board documents show.
She also has Junior and Senior ROTC Instructor certifications.
Past jobs have included executive director of the Chicago Military Processing Station and commandant at Phoenix STEM Military Academy in Chicago Public Schools.
After the meeting, Stampley, originally from Chicago, noted her excitement to begin working with the Kankakee cadets.
She said the job will be closer to where she currently lives in Matteson.
Several board members welcomed Stampley to the district during and after the meeting.
Shameka Fountain, assistant superintendent of human resources, introduced Stampley to the board.
Fountain said the high school team had a list of more than 500 eligible officers from across the nation.
“Unfortunately, when we called many of them, they were not excited to move to the Midwest,” she said. “But we are happy to report that we will continue to have a JROTC program in Kankakee High School.”
Fountain noted that former instructor Col. Maria Emery and her husband, Coach David Emery, got the JROTC program off the ground at KHS.
“Since 2018, Col. Emery along with Mr. Emery have developed a wonderful program where our students have flourished,” she said.
In December 2021, the district was notified that its program was selected to become an officially Army-recognized JROTC program.
The staffing of a qualified senior Army instructor is required to maintain this status.
Army recognition also means funding assistance for JROTC instructor salaries and resources.
Fountain added that the Emerys are no longer working with KHS cadets due to relocation, but their service to the district is appreciated.
“Col. Emery wanted to make sure the vision of Dr. [Genevra] Walters as it relates to JROTC was still functioning, and she continued to work with us to find a leader for the program,” Fountain said.
Stephanie Markham joined the Daily Journal in February 2020 as the education reporter. She focuses on school boards as well as happenings and trends in local schools. She earned her B.A. in journalism from Eastern Illinois University.
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