Randy Gilman will leave the Fox C-6 School District after a combined 42 years as either a student or employee of the district.
Gilman, the district’s assistant superintendent of elementary since 2015, will retire on June 30.
“It was a difficult decision because I’ve dedicated my entire working life to this district and love the people I work with,” he said. “Through a lot of prayer and contemplation, I came to the decision that it was time to move on to something new.”
Gilman, 51, of Imperial is being paid $155,802.69 this school year.
Superintendent Paul Fregeau said Gilman will be missed.
“He is taking a wealth of institutional and community knowledge that are extremely valuable,” Fregeau said. “In addition, his commitment to doing what is best for kids is exemplary.
”I consider him a friend as well as a colleague, so I will miss that relationship. Furthermore, I will miss his sense of humor.”
Fregeau said Gilman is skilled at working through difficult issues and situations with a calm approach, which leads to positive resolutions.
He also said Gilman led the effort to implement the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) assessment tool when the Fox district started using the testing system during the 2021-2022 school year.
NWEA was developed in 1973 in Oregon and Washington to provide methods for measuring student growth and proficiency and providing suggestions to tailor instruction, according to the nonprofit’s website.
Gilman said he will miss the relationships he has formed during his tenure with the district.
“Education is a career that centers around a community of people with the common goal of caring for students, so I’ll definitely miss the people the most,” he said.
“I think I speak for a lot of educators when I say that some of the best interactions are those where a former student or employee reaches out to let you know about the positive impact you had on their life or career. I’ve had many of these encounters through the years, and they have all meant so much to me.”
Gilman said he believes he is leaving the elementary schools in good hands.
“I’ve had the privilege of being in a position to encourage a significant number of educators toward the pathway of leadership,” he said. “I’m leaving the elementary program in the hands of an amazing group of principals and assistant principals, and I couldn’t be prouder of this group.”
Fregeau said the district will begin looking for a new assistant superintendent of elementary schools soon, and he hopes to have someone in place in time for Gilman to help during the transition.
“I would like (Gilman) to be very involved in assisting his replacement to ensure a smooth transition,” Fregeau said.
Gilman said he is ready to help his replacement settle into the job.
“I have already started a monthly ‘to-do’ list for them, which should serve as a guide for next year,” he said. “I will also spend quite a bit of time between their hire and June 30 getting them up to speed on all things related to my job.”
Gilman did not say what his next career move might be, adding that his wife, Joy, a counselor at Fox Elementary, has some jobs for him to do at home.
He also said he looks forward to spending more time with his children, Keira and Jack, as well as working on his golf game.
Gilman was a student in the district beginning as a kindergartner until graduating from Fox High School in 1991.
After attending Jefferson College and then Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, he began working for the Fox district.
He taught fifth grade at Fox Elementary from 1995 to 2001 before working as an assistant principal at Lone Dell, Clyde Hamrick and Antonia elementary schools at the same time from 2001 to 2004.
Then, Gilman was the principal at Meramec Heights Elementary from 2004 to 2015 before being promoted to assistant superintendent of elementary schools.
Gilman’s father, the late Glyn Gilman, was a retired Fox administrator and former school board member.
“Loyalty, I guess, would be the appropriate word,” he said of why he spent his entire 29 years in education in the same district. “Fox has traditionally had a familial culture and has felt like home.”