John Link to begin state position after retirement from Jackson district

Jackson School District superintendent John Link, who will retire from the district at the end of June, won't be retired long.

On July 1, he will become the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's supervisor of instruction in Southeast Missouri, serving as a liaison between DESE and public school systems throughout a 16-county area.

Link, who has served as the Jackson superintendent six years, announced his retirement plans in October. However, at age 55, he believes he still has "a little fuel in the tank" and wants to stay involved in education.

"I'll be working with 68 districts in the region, guiding them through the accountability and school improvement processes and helping make sure what's being sent down from the education department is being implemented in a way that's best for students," he said Thursday shortly after his new position was announced on the Jackson Facebook page.

Those 68 districts have a combined enrollment of approximately 67,000 students.

Link will succeed Ken Jackson of Dexter, Missouri, in the DESE regional supervision role. Jackson, a licensed aviator, was named earlier this year to serve as director of aviation operations in Southeast Missouri State University's new pilot education program.

"I've worked with Dr. Jackson pretty closely for six years, and he's done a tremendous job," Link said. "I want to take what he's done and expand on it."

One of the major challenges facing all schools throughout Missouri, as well as the nation, is the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the potential ongoing need for remote learning in some districts.

"We're figuring out where we are right now as far as student engagement and student instruction when it comes to dealing with the pandemic," Link said. "Most districts have been in school since the start (of the pandemic). There have been a few that have had to shut down for a little bit due to quarantines, but for the most part, we've been in school so we have a year's worth of data to look at and see where our gains have been and where we need improvement."

Another challenge Link said he and the department of education will be dealing with in the coming years will be in the area of postsecondary career training.

"Gov. (Mike) Parson is pushing hard on career education and trying to provide more opportunities and resources for school districts either as they're graduating, preparing to graduate or starting to think about their future," Link said.

"We're one of the areas of the state that does not have a technical college and our kids have to leave (the area) to get skills they need for jobs and sometimes they don't come back," he continued. "We've got to be able to provide opportunities for students and even for adults that are transitioning from one job or another. Whether that will be part of my job description is still to be determined, but it's something I want to advocate for."

In addition to some of the details in his job description, Link said his new position's salary has not been finalized, either.

"I have no clue yet," Link when asked about his compensation.

"I know the starting salary listed in the job description said '$50,000-plus,' but to be quite honest, money has no influence on this job; it was the fact that I get to continue working in the school business, working with educators and hopefully impacting the lives of children in Southeast Missouri," he said.

"I wasn't looking for additional income as much as I was looking for something that I feel I'm called to do," the Jackson superintendent continued. "It's a service I can still provide."

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