QPS Educator & Staff Spotlight: Carol Mickle

Retired QPS Elementary Teacher • Instructional Coordinator • Baldwin School Principal •  Director of Curriculum • Administrative Assistant for Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment, State and federal projects, and Professional Development • and district Assistant Superintendent

By: Maureen Klues, Freelancer & Proud QHS Parent ’16, ’26, and ’29

In this extended Alumni Spotlight, Carol shares highlights from her life. This article is written in her own words from an interview conducted on April 14, 2026.

Always Wanted to Teach

I attended and graduated from Quincy Public Schools and Quincy University. I had a great education. When I graduated from college, I was hired to teach at Quincy Public Schools in 1972; I had the most wonderful career.

I had wanted to be a teacher since childhood. I taught at Webster Elementary School through the 1970s. In 1980, Webster School closed, and I was scheduled to teach at Madison School; however, I chose to apply and was hired to fill a district federal grant position. I continued to be appointed to positions with increasing district-wide responsibilities, culminating in my serving as the district’s Assistant Superintendent for my final 17 years, retiring in 2005.

Making Greater Impact

Terry & Carol Mickle

I loved teaching. It was very hard for me to leave the classroom. It just was who I was. I loved developing relationships with students and seeing them grow and learn. When I made the transition from the classroom to an administrative role, I realized I could make a much larger  impact on student learning in a district-wide position, as opposed to a single classroom of students. That was exciting.

My administrative roles in the district were a great experience. The people who mentored and appointed me to various positions were talented administrators, dedicated to improving the learning of all students and committed to the overall “high success” of the school district and all of its programs.

I learned to write grants from a colleague, Terry Mickle, who also worked for Quincy Public Schools (he later became my husband). These grants brought millions of state, federal, and private dollars into the school district to support classroom learning, teacher and administrative professional learning, along with new ways of recruiting and hiring teachers and administrators. It was vitally important that the grant funds should serve students in their classrooms and the teachers and principals who work in these schools.

In 1985, the superintendent encouraged me to apply to become a principal at Baldwin School.  He felt strongly that central office administrators should be principals first to better understand the complexities of managing and leading a school. I accepted the position, and it proved to be a wonderful opportunity and a critical part of my educational experiences and learning.

Becoming Assistant Superintendent

After a year at Baldwin, the superintendent asked me to return to the central office as an administrative assistant. My responsibilities included district-wide curriculum, instruction, assessment, as well as state and federal grants and programs.

It was an incredibly challenging and fulfilling career. By collaborating with so many talented, willing, and hard-working teachers and principals, along with support administrators, we were able to develop new educational programs improved curriculum, instruction, and assessments.  Our initial and long-term focus was on “excellence” in reading, writing, mathematics, and science; improvements that produced phenomenal results. The improvements in student learning were exceptional and continued over the next decade. I felt my success in leading these initiatives would not have been possible without the support of the two superintendents for whom I worked, as well as support from multiple Boards of Education. 

An Exciting Time

Good leaders set high expectations and develop goals, collaborate with staff, and hire the best people.  It was my role to support staff, as well as lead district initiatives. We developed an incredible professional development program for teachers and principals that is admired across the state and the nation. It was not a traditional approach, and it proved critical to our success.  We were extremely careful to select only the most successful, quality research-based curriculum and instructional practices. Professional development leaders from both inside and outside the district were carefully chosen after an extensive review of their expertise, performance, and results of their efforts.

Many of our schools and programs started showing tremendous progress in student achievement. Even in the schools with the highest percentage of students living in poverty, students made significant progress. Student learning and achievement increased. It wasn’t just students’ test scores that verified these improvements; our staff and parents also saw the success in their students. We continuously focused on ALL students: those who were not learning, those with learning difficulties, our solid, middle group of grade-level-achieving students, and our high-achieving and accelerated students.

Three of our schools (those with the greatest percentage of children living in poverty, ranging from approximately  65-95%) were recognized by the State of Illinois as “Spotlight Schools for Academic Achievement” for exemplary performance by ALL groups of students in meeting high standards. 

One of the three schools, with the highest percentage of poverty, received recognition nationally from the President of the United States, who came to Quincy to recognize the principal and staff for their exceptional efforts to significantly improve student learning to “at” and “above” grade level performance for all groups, while simultaneously improving student attendance, behavior, and notably increasing parent involvement. The principal and staff had committed to participating in Stanford University’s Accelerated School program, which was instrumental in supporting the improvements.

The President also complimented the districts’ efforts to ensure that grant funds supported “direct services to students” in the classroom, resulting in measurable improvements in student learning. While Quincy Public Schools’ use of state and federal grant funds to directly support students and staff learning may seem like common sense, this was not happening throughout the country, as funds often supported non-classroom projects or high administrative costs.

It was an exciting time. It proved that if you have the leadership to engage and lead people (not by force or mandate), it works.  

I always felt it was such an honor to lead those teachers and administrators who were willing to do things differently, work collaboratively, and participate in challenging and ongoing professional development. I believed my role was to ensure that any change was well-researched, demonstrated solid results, and made a major, measurable impact on the success of our students and staff. I had no interest in “change for change’s sake.”

In the 1980’s, 1990’s, and through 2005, we added required mathematics and writing labs in the high school, along with assessments to verify students’ progress, which was something that had never been done before. We added and expanded early childhood programs, intensive reading intervention in all primary schools, with a heavy focus on learning to read in grade one,  continuous reading, writing, and mathematics, and on-site professional development for teachers of grades K-6.

Reading, mathematics,  writing, science, and social studies underwent extensive curriculum and instruction revisions and additions, with essential professional development focused on student learning across all grade levels. We added a significant amount of materials and equipment across the district for classroom instruction. We began extended-day academic tutoring at all elementary schools and completely redesigned our K-6 summer school programs.

It was just a time of great leadership, support for people, and talented people willing to give their energy and time to accomplish those things. I was fortunate to be in a leadership role at that time.

The Foundation’s Beginnings

It was a very exciting time when the Quincy Public Schools Foundation began. Through the commitment of a dedicated group of citizens, working collaboratively with the superintendent who had sought and received Board of Education approval, the Quincy Foundation for Quality Education (QFQE) became a reality.

QFQE board members determined their Mission was to make a significant impact on the school district’s success. These leaders wanted to fund major projects, whereas other school foundations often focused on the regular day-to-day needs of schools.

Through my time in school administration, the Foundation funded successful projects to improve reading, writing, mathematics, accelerated programs of instruction, student support services, and other areas of improvement. The funding that QFQE provided for our K-12 science initiative was absolutely critical to its success. It was always a pleasure for me to invite staff to help present the successful results of these funded projects.

As the Foundation grew, it funded a student mentor program and added teacher grants, and a QFQE Board member initiated and helped develop the “Circles of Investment,” which has brought substantial funding to the Foundation. 

After I retired, I was asked to be a QFQE board member, a role I enjoyed.  The Foundation has grown significantly and has been renamed the Quincy Public Schools Foundation (QPSF). The highly successful DREAM BIG fundraising effort has had a tremendous impact on increasing funding available to the school district. The current executive director’s leadership, the staff, and the QPSF board’s leadership are moving things forward.

My husband and I have really enjoyed donating funds to the Foundation each year. We believe donating is a way to give back to the school district for all we gained from our careers. 

Learn more about taking part in the Circle of Investment here.

Reflecting on Encouragement

In my roles as a teacher and an administrator, there were always people who encouraged me to do new things. When I was still teaching, the director of the International Graduate School of Education in Parker, Colorado, asked me to teach. I wasn’t sure that was something I could do. My principal at the time encouraged me to accept the offer. That led me to teach graduate-level courses and conduct workshops across the country. I would not have had that experience without that encouragement.

I was also able to co-author a book on coaching and supervising teachers with a professor from the University of Illinois after he contacted me and encouraged my participation. We engaged in a national book tour, meeting numerous educators who valued our contribution to education. I was also encouraged by administrative colleagues to complete my Master’s degree in school administration at Northeast Missouri State University.

Finally, the encouragement from my parents (especially my mother’s passion for education), my husband, and a few special administrators was essential to my professional success.

A Wonderful Beginning

So much of what you become comes from your life’s beginning. I just had the most wonderful family. My parents raised a large family through their personal sacrifice and much hard work.  They placed high importance on the value of education; all five children completed college degrees.  My siblings are good people, the highest compliment to a parent. They are caring and successful people; I am so proud of each one of them.

It was a very loving home. My parents valued honesty, hard work, integrity, and compassion. There are many ways one can learn values, but mine grew out of my family. It wasn’t that our parents told us their values; it was that they modeled them. It was a wonderful beginning.

My interactions with the Franciscans at Quincy University were a powerful influence on me.  They mirrored those basic values that had come from my family. I had some great teachers at Quincy Public Schools. Later, as an adult, I contacted some of them to thank them for impacting my life; my regret is that I did not reach all of them.

My Best Decision

I think I am a good decision maker, but the best decision of my life was marrying my husband, Terry. We share common values that guide all aspects of our lives. We both love an intellectual challenge, are active, and are close and supportive of our families. We have always had a passion for education and for supporting initiatives that help children.

A few years after I started teaching, Terry was working on one of the district’s innovative grant programs, and I was able to work with him. Terry was the best listener. I will never be the listener he is, but I see how powerful it can be to have someone who just listens without preconceived ideas or a desire to interject or offer advice.

He is a collaborative leader. I am so proud of his success as principal at Washington School, supporting and leading a great staff who made incredible things happen for children and families.

When we worked together the first few years, we didn’t date. However, that changed, and the year before I became a principal, we decided to marry. We were married in Kauai, Hawaii, in a tiny Catholic church in the center of sugar plantations. It was just beautiful. We feel so fortunate to have had such a loving and happy marriage.

I retired in 2005. I would have continued working; I loved my job, but I retired to spend time with Terry. His sense of fun is incredible. He just looks at every day as another opportunity to enjoy every aspect of life. We have been able to travel so much and experience so many cultures throughout the world since we retired. We continue to enjoy entertaining and spending good times with family and friends.

Making Things Better

Throughout my career, I have learned the importance of having good relationships with teachers, administrators, and the community. Relationships are essential to making significant and sustained “change.” One cannot force change. Once that is understood, you start with the people who want innovation; they will amaze you with what they accomplish with your leadership. If you spend your time on the smaller number of people who don’t want to change, you take the resources and your support away from those who will make incredible efforts to improve an organization.

My overall purpose in my profession is simply to always look at things and make them better.

Help us DREAM BIG for Quincy Public Schools!

Donate to the Terry & Carol Mickle Fund for Education
Donate to the Genevieve Irvine Education Fund for Economically Disadvantaged Children
Learn more about Circles of Investment
Ways to Support the QPS Foundation

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READ MORE ALUMNI SPOTLIGHTS

To read more QHS Alumni Spotlights, visit qpsfoundation.org/alumni-spotlights.

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