A Versatile Voice for Education: Frank Petkunas, Regional Superintendent, Iroquois and Kankakee Counties

Today, I have the pleasure of speaking with Frank Petkunas, the Regional Superintendent for Iroquois and Kankakee Counties. As the head of the Regional Office of Education, Frank plays an important role in the delivery of a range of services with which many of our listeners may not be particularly familiar. Sometimes, in education, we speak in what seems like a foreign language to some, using acronyms and jargon for things that attach to real, every day lives, so I thought it would be interesting to dive into and decode some of the behind-the-scenes work of the ROE—the Regional office of education—as well as learn a bit more about the person at the helm. 

Think of all the things a child needs to know just to be prepared for the challenges of first grade, much less high school or college. But parents and helpers, like Frank, have been educating kids for generations. The old expression, “It takes a village” is absolutely pertinent to the educating of a child because it is such a large and important task. Now multiply that child by the hundreds in Momence, or the thousands across Iroquois and Kankakee Counties. To do right by all of those kids requires a very special village, and many thousands of committed people within that village working together to see to the education of all our children. It requires coordination, compassion, empathy, and a tremendous range of skillsets. What Frank and his colleagues in education do is remarkable and emblematic of one of the finest things one person can do for another—teach them. As we think about Momence Schools, and the others across our region that educators work in every day on behalf of our children, I think it is right to be mindful of the dedication they bring to the task, and the difference they are making in lives.