Nuccio bids farewell to Indian Springs SD 109

By Carol McGowan

After 25 years of serving the area, 22 of those at Indian Springs School District 109, Dr. Blair Nuccio is set to retire.

Dr. Nuccio was the assistant superintendent at District 109 before becoming superintendent in July of 2017.

Prior to that, he spent three years as the superintendent at Willow Springs School District 108.

“It’s hard to leave,” said Nuccio, who exits the district at the end of this week.

District 109 consists of six schools:  Bridgeview Elementary, Brodnicki Elementary, Lyle Elementary, Player Early Childhood, Wilkins Elementary, and Wilkins Jr. High School.

“Working here has been a pleasure. I’ve had the great opportunity to work and give back to the area that I grew up in,” he said.

Nuccio grew up in Summit, attended School District 104, and graduated from Argo Community High School.

After that, with music in his blood since a youngster at Graves School, he went on to graduate in 1990 from Eastern Illinois University with a degree in music education.

He went on to get his MA in education administration from EIU, then earned his doctorate from Northern Illinois University.

“We have a great music program here at 109,” he said. “Fine Arts has always been important to me. We have developed a wonderful strings program here over the years, and many of our students continue that while moving into high school. Those programs have become a huge part of the entire educational experience for students.  Quite a few continue with it into a great career.

“We have very a very talented staff here at 109. We have great teachers and many have moved into administration over the years. We have so much talent in the classroom and our leadership.”

Nuccio leaves behind a list of accomplishments for the district during his time.

He noted how the school communicates with the community with their SwiftReach alert system, their great curriculum, and technology for students with Chrome.

Another on the list is the track at Wilkins.

“We bought land and made an area for Track & Field.  It serves the school well, and the community also benefits from using it to walk.”

The most challenging time for Nuccio was COVID. “It was a difficult time for everyone.”

As far as what he would like to see at the district, “It’s a great place now.” After thinking for a bit, he added, “One thing we could benefit from would be a marketing person for our schools.”

As for retirement, Nuccio plans to move with his wife, whom he met in college and married in 1992, to Arizona.

“My wife is my biggest supporter. I have a huge support base in my family.”

Once again, the new superintendent will come from within.

At its regularly scheduled meeting on April 16, the school board approved the promotion of Assistant Superintendent Crystal Skoczylas to superintendent as of July 1.