IPA Names SIUE Alum Deets as 2019 Graves Award Recipient
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville alumnus David Deets, superintendent of Harmony-Emge School District 175 in Belleville, has received the 2019 Herman Graves Award from the Illinois Principals Association (IPA).
Sponsored by Horace Mann Companies of Springfield, the Graves Award was established in 1991 to recognize outstanding service to IPA. Graves was selected as the first honoree, and the award was established because of the intrinsic contributions he made to the Association and his enthusiasm for the profession. Winners are chosen from the IPA’s 21 regional areas. From these elite administrators, a state winner is chosen by a committee comprised of IPA past presidents.
“Dave Deets epitomizes what it means to be a learning leader who effectively leads his learning organization,” said Dr. Jason Leahy, IPA executive director. “Beyond his work in his school, Mr. Deets has committed himself to positively impacting the education profession and schools across the state through his significant involvement in the Illinois Principals Association. We are grateful for his passion and commitment to help school leaders throughout Illinois do what is best for their students.”
Deets has been an IPA member since 2008 and has served on the IPA board of directors as state director for the Southwestern Region (Jersey, Madison, St. Clair, Monroe and Randolph counties). He previously served on the Southwestern Region board as board secretary and region director. He has also served at the state level as a representative to State Superintendent’s Principal Advisory, Illinois State Board of Education ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) Indicators of Success and Early Childhood Readiness committees.
Deets was previously recognized by his peers as the 2017 Southwestern Region Reaching Out and Building Bridges Award winner for his partnership with St. Matthew United Methodist Church in Belleville to provide character education programming and tutoring to students at Ellis Elementary. He was also named Southwestern Region Elementary Principal of the Year in 2013.
A Glen Carbon resident, Deets earned a bachelor’s in elementary education from the SIUE School of Education, Health and Human Behavior, where he also received a superintendent endorsement.
The IPA is a leadership organization which serves over 5,700 educational leaders throughout the state of Illinois and whose mission is to develop, support, and advocate for innovative educational leaders.
