When it’s all said and done, the needs of Hazelwood students come first for Ingrid Clark-Jackson, even over retirement.
“Kids are our priority because they are our business,” Clark-Jackson said, “and all adults need to conform to do what is best for our kids.”
After serving as associate superintendent of human resources, Clark-Jackson said she had accomplished what she wanted during her education career and it was time to move forward. She created an educational consulting business, had some clients lined up and looked forward to a great Caribbean trip in the fall.
Several people suggested she not retire and consider filling the superintendent vacancy. Her mind was set, and she was ready to forge into a new chapter in her life.
“I’ve never wanted to be a superintendent; this just wasn’t a goal of mine,” she said. “I had reached my plateau, and that was in human resources. I always wanted to do human resources, and I felt I had built that program pretty much from the ground up. And it was 33-plus years in education. It was time to go.”
With only 43 days remaining, at last spring’s annual employee retirement celebration, which Clark-Jackson emceed, her journey to retirement met a detour when school board member Karlton Thornton called her out.
“Karlton Thornton went to the mic and says, ‘We’ve decided she’s not going to retire,’” Clark-Jackson said. “And he said, ‘And her husband is going to come over my house and drink beer.’ And that’s how he ended it. And my mouth just dropped.”
After the program, the board called her in and asked her to stay.
“I was brutally honest with the board. I said, ‘I just don’t want to work for seven people who sometimes come in with hidden agendas and they don’t make good decisions for kids.’ If the board is fighting, then we can’t get past what we need to do – what’s best for kids,” she said.
It took some soul-searching, conversations with family, prayer and divine guidance.
“Another superintendent called me and said, ‘You know, your plan makes God laugh,’” she said. “One day I woke up and it was like a weight lifted and I was at peace, and I said, ‘Okay, I’m here to do this job.’”
Clark-Jackson agreed to do it – for one year. “This is the right thing to do for kids until they find someone,” she said.
Before joining Hazelwood School District in 2006, Clark-Jackson worked for Ritenour School District as both an assistant principal and associate principal at its high school, where she was involved in the recruitment and hiring of high school teachers through the Ventures for Excellence Training Program. She was also a volleyball coach.
At Hazelwood, she first served as principal of Hazelwood West High School; then as HR associate superintendent. As interim superintendent, Clark-Jackson is adamant that every decision she makes is about kids.
“My vision is that every child that comes through our doors needs to be educated at any cost,” Clark-Jackson said. “We know what they don’t have at home, and so as educator, we are the experts in meeting the needs of our children.”
While some can empathize with the struggles of a child in a one-parent home, Clark-Jackson lived it. She and her brother grew up in a single parent home in St. Louis. She rode the bus to attend parochial high school.
She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in education from Northeast Missouri State University, taught communications arts, worked as a financial analyst at McDonnell Douglas, went back to teaching and continued her education with a Master of Science degree in business administration and marketing from Maryville University and a Specialist in Education Administration degree from Saint Louis University. She earned a doctoral degree in educational leadership from Maryville University. She has also been a co-facilitator for the 2005 Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Leadership Academy for principals.
She and her brother, H. Eric Clark, both have doctorates. He is the president of Loyola Academy in St. Louis. She said her mother, Christine Strong, consistently pushed the importance of education.
Her call for more parent involvement in schools circles back to the home.
“When parents are involved in their child’s education, kids do better,” she said. “They need someone there to open the door for them, to say, ‘How was your day? Let’s talk about it.’”
