Photos courtesy of Grove City Library and Central Crossing High School
In 2009, Dr. Jill Burke was happily settled at Hillard Davidson High School as a school administrator. Her two daughters, Melissa and Meredith, had either already graduated from college or were on their way out, and her career thus far had consisted of many years in education and schooling. Things were great for Burke in 2009.
But something happened that altered her regularly scheduled agenda. That year, due to lack of funding from failure to pass a proposed local tax levy, extracurriculars and athletics were slashed from South-Western City Schools.
“It made my heart hurt,” Burke says. “I grew up there and it’s a great community. I just felt like I needed to go back home because it just didn’t feel right to me.”
A History Lesson
When she was 7 years old, Burke and her family moved to Grove City. She attended The Ohio State University on an athletic scholarship as a synchronized swimmer. For four years straight, she and her team claimed the national championship. After a short hiatus in Pittsburgh with her family, she returned to Columbus to go back to school in order to earn her teaching credentials.
Her two daughters, ironically enough, also decided to go into education after a lifetime of watching their mother.
“It was just all they knew,” Burke says. “They just saw it all the time – in second grade one of my daughters wanted to know when her teacher was going to start giving her ‘real’ grades – like I graded my student’s papers.”
After graduating from Ashland University, Burke began her role at Hillard Davidson High School. While she loved the school, the news of the rejected tax levy struck a core in her home community, and she couldn’t sit and watch without taking action.
So, Burke returned to Grove City and began as principal of Central Crossing High School in 2010 – just after the school missed their Fall football season due to cuts, but were reinstated for the spring season.
“We had a new beginning in 2010. You know, I was a new principal. Things were headed back to a positive way of doing things,” Burke says.
Taking the Lead
It was a daunting task, revitalizing a school that had just been put through the wringer. Burke had her hands full, but says what made everything possible was the amazingly collaborative atmosphere of CCHS. She began immersing herself in different communities and groups within the school, from attending choir meetings to meeting with teachers on a get-to-know basis.
“It’s just part of the fabric here,” Burke gushes. “Teachers work on teams and in departments… Everybody knows two heads are better than one.”
Even with the whole school working together to boost each other up, Burke says that athletically, it was difficult to get back into the swing of things.
“When they cut athletics, we had a lot of good athletes disappear. We lost some good ones. In time, though, they got better and better and our football team got better.”
Burke awarding Kert Lanam the Hometown Hero award in 2017.
A Friendly Face
Her life as a principal isn’t what some people imagine. Some of us have this vintage, stereotypical image of being sent to the principal’s office for punishment; we begged, pleaded and did anything we could not to go there. But at CCHS, Burke usually has a line of people at her door just waiting to pay a visit.
Burke laughs that the most common thing she hears is, “You got a minute?” as her office is always open; inviting students, parents and administration to approach her with anything. As a principal, it’s important to her that she’s seen and involved – whether that’s in the hallways, in classrooms or in meetings.
“There’s always someone who needs a piece of your time,” Burke says. “The only time my door is closed is when there’s a confidential conversation going on. Other than that? Open door policy.”
When she’s not running around, mingling and collaborating with the school’s community, Burke is fiercely focused on two non-negotiables: safety and learning.
“We look at failure as a way of learning and it’s a way of growth.” - Burke
She and the administrative team constantly work with their school resource officers to make students feel as safe as possible in their environment. Credit goes to the amazing police and fire department that support the school district. Burke says she can’t thank the community enough.
There are a lot of hands-on duties that go into the protection of the school and its students. CCHS attends many meetings to talk about how every detail can help improve safety measures, even discussing the exact security camera angles.
All the work Burke does is so her students can feel comfortable learning and trying new things without fearing failure.
“We look at failure as a way of learning and it’s a way of growth,” Burke says.
A Packed Agenda
As for the upcoming portion of the year, it’s going to be a lot of testing, testing and more testing. But along with students cracking down and studying hard, there are also other exciting events happening to keep spirits up. The spring musical, Catch Me If You Can, will showcase in April and the SBC Spaghetti Dinner is ramping up to support the athletes and band.
The school’s Navy Junior Reserve Officer’s Training Corps unit is also making huge moves towards the end of the year, traveling to Normandy to participate in the D-Day Memorial Parade and Musical Salute for the veterans.
As for Burke, she eventually wants to retire to spend time with her family, but knows she’ll never truly stop working in education. Even as the principal, she’s also made time to be a member of the Varsity O Alumni Society at OSU, where she actively participates in community service and works with the athletic department.
She expressed interest in doing other things with her doctorate degree. When she graduated with all her credentials, Burke remembers several doctors telling her, “Congratulations. Now go do something with it.”
With all her accomplishments thus far, it’s clear she’s followed that advice. Now, it’s just a matter of deciding what challenge to take on next.
“There’s always more to do,” she laughs. “Always more to do.”
Mallory Arnold is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at marnold@cityscenemediagroup.com.
