Showing Up

Newton Community High School Athletic Director, Craig Carr, is preparing for retirement after thirty-two years of service. As he reflects upon his journey—from Jr. High Social Studies teacher to Principal to Guidance Counselor and Athletic Director—a common theme runs through his tenure. Craig has always prioritized participation. He showed up even if it meant simultaneously teaching, coaching, and working toward his master’s degree in Educational Administration.

Newton Community High School Athletic Director, Craig Carr

While Craig grew up in the country outside of Monticello, Illinois, and received his bachelor’s degree in education from Illinois State University, he moved to Jasper County when he was thirty. And while his teaching career started in Catholic elementary schools, he’s been working in the Jasper County Schools for twenty of the last twenty-two years. After thirty-two years of service, he’ll retire at the end of this school year.

I think kids realize it’s more fun to be involved. It’s more work, too. But sometimes work is fun.

When asked what separates Jasper County from other areas, he quickly discusses the region’s sense of community, using words like sacrifice and compromise to describe the families he’s interacted with over the last three decades.

“I think that I would sum it up by saying that when push comes to shove, people put their own needs aside. We have people here that are passionate about what they need and what their families need. But when the big picture becomes more clear, I think that most of the time, people realize they see the bigger need, even if it’s not what they need,” shares Craig.

He continues, adding, “I think we have very few selfish people around here. Obviously, people will always try to take care of number one, but I think they do an excellent job of keeping the big picture in mind and doing what’s best for the community, or for the school as a whole rather than what they need, personally.”

Besides working as an administrator, athletic director, and counselor, Craig has also raised two children, a son and a daughter. His son graduated from Mizzou and helps veterans through the home loan process, working for Veterans United. His daughter is a senior at Eastern Illinois University, where she is a student-athlete. She is majoring in elementary education with an emphasis on special education while also running track and cross-country.

Athletics has always been important to Craig, who considers being a part of a team an essential part of life. “There are a lot of cliches about athletics, about how they’re an extension of the classroom. I like to say that cliches are there for a reason. Because they’re true. It teaches kids and adults to deal with the highs and lows that come at you.”

At the end of the day, it’s about participating. It’s been important to Craig throughout his three decades in education. And he considers it more important than ever. He beams with pride as he shares that while participation is down nationwide, Jasper County’s youth continues to show up. When he hosted a fifteen team sectional track meet of only one hundred runners, Jasper County was well represented. Where many schools don’t have Junior Varsity girls’ basketball squads or when they merge their freshman and sophomore boys’ programs, Jasper county continues to show up. So much so that Craig admits to other schools competing to pull his teams into their tournaments, knowing that the community will support their community and fill the bleachers.

“I think kids realize it’s more fun to be involved. It’s more work, too. But sometimes work is fun.” And the work Craig has done in Jasper County Schools has left a legacy of opportunity for hundreds of Jasper County kids.