NORMAL - The Consortium for Educational Change told Unit 5 officials last year they need to do a better job of communicating with the community, and people who know one of the finalists for superintendent say he has the talent to do it.

Gary Niehaus, superintendent for the Charleston school district in east-central Illinois, is one of two candidates being considered for the top job at the Normal-based school district.

"He's pretty open in communication and is easygoing," said Karen Garrett, a Charleston teacher and president of the teachers' union, the Charleston Education Association.

He meets with representatives of the union, the board and each of the district's schools before each board meeting. That gives them a chance to talk about any issues that could become conflicts if they aren't addressed early, she said.

She said he also pays attention to modern teaching techniques.

"He's helped us move forward in the realm of technology," Garrett said, noting that teachers now use laptop computers in their lessons.

Niehaus said he believes networking - knowing a wide variety of people who can be called upon to talk when issues arise - helps involve people in the school and in the community.

"I felt he has served our district well," said Gail Mason, a professor at Eastern Illinois University and Charleston's longest-serving school board member.

In particular she has been impressed with his work on the "wonderful nine-year plan" to create a campus where the kindergarten, middle school and high school are located near each other.

The plan calls for making the schools into an integrated campus with green space, athletic fields and parking.

"He has a great vision for all of this," she said.

Work on the 53-acre space is intended to improve student safety and traffic flow and enhance the aesthetic appeal of the campus, she said.

Mason said one of the most difficult issues Niehaus had to deal with was closing a school. The school in Ashmore had 53 kindergarten to fourth-grade students, but keeping the school open couldn't be justified academically or financially, she said.

Every district Niehaus has worked for has been in a university town. He said he finds that an advantage for all the schools involved.

Niehaus also has collaborated with businesses as superintendent in projects similar to the Achievement Gap Task Force, a joint effort by Unit 5 and Bloomington District 87 and partially funded by State Farm Insurance Cos. to help students overcome socioeconomic disadvantages.

Likewise, Charleston's Soaring Schools project, for which the Lumpkin Family Foundation provides $100,000 a year, focuses on improving high school students' achievement.

Niehaus also has had experience at the state level with strategies to improve middle schools and has done extensive work with special-education and reading issues for elementary students.

He said he also would like to recruit employees who more closely reflects the diversity of Unit 5's students.

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Gary Niehaus

His background

Education: Doctorate of education, Loyola University of Chicago; education specialist degree, Eastern Illinois University; M.S., Southeastern Louisiana University; B.S., Eastern Illinois University.

Current position: Superintendent, Charleston Community Unit School District 1, since 2003.

Previous positions: Superintendent, Salem Elementary School District 111 (seven years); middle school principal, River Forrest, Champaign, and Effingham (13 years); high school assistant principal and academic dean (six years); physical education and social studies teacher (two years).

His current district

Number of students: 3,000

Number of teachers: 207

Buildings: one high school, one middle school, four elementary schools

Size of district: 252 square miles

Annual budget: $25 million

Tax rate: $5.31 per $100 equalized assessed valuation

His thoughts on Unit 5 issues

Former Unit 5 teacher accused of sexual misconduct with students: "I've never had a situation like this (as superintendent where such an issue arose). I would do all I could to ensure that everyone is safe and secure in school buildings."

Contract negotiations: "I'm working on the third contract in four years," said Niehaus who was the first in the state to use interest-based bargaining with a new noncertified staff in the contract he negotiated with Charleston Educational Support Personnel Association. Interest-based negotiating instead of the former adversarial approach to negotiation also is used in Unit 5.

SOURCE: Gary Niehaus, Unit 5

Compiled by Phyllis Coulter