Next Heritage superintendent aims to 'personally know every student'

Feb. 6—BROADLANDS — In taking on the role of superintendent for the Heritage school district, Kim Norton is returning to her small-town roots.

"I'm just really excited to be in a place where I will be able to personally know every student and every family," Norton said.

With only two schools and fewer than 400 students, the Heritage district fits the bill.

Norton grew up in Georgetown and has stuck around East Central Illinois for most of her life.

For her, it's all about family; Norton and husband Andy lived in Kentucky for a while but moved back to Sidney to be closer to relatives once they had kids.

Norton said she comes from a long line of educators, including her father, a former school administrator; her brother, currently a school administrator; and now her son, who teaches Spanish at Danville High School.

"Education just runs in our blood," Norton said.

She credits her dad for inspiring her to join the field, but there was never any question that she would work in schools in some way.

"I just never had anything else that I wanted to do," Norton said.

Norton attended Illinois State University for her bachelor's degree and Eastern Kentucky University for her master's, then went back to Illinois State for her doctorate.

Her first job was at Armstrong Ellis Grade School — another small-town school — and she went on to teach middle school, then joined school-improvement teams.

That teacher leadership role served as a ramp to becoming a coordinator, a building administrator and now superintendent.

She was previously principal at Danville High and has been an assistant superintendent in Urbana since 2019.

"It was just a desire to contribute to the overall school environment at a greater level," Norton said. "I've been blessed. I've had wonderful administrators I've been able to work with, and I've been fortunate to have experiences teaching elementary, teaching middle school and then being an administrator at every building level."

When she isn't at school, Norton is spending time with family or enjoying nature, especially with her family's three dogs, all doodles, on their property.

The 22 acres aren't quite enough to farm on, so "it's just doodle country," Norton said.

She won't officially take over as Heritage superintendent until July, but Norton said she can't wait to get started.

She will be taking over from current Superintendent Tom Davis, who is retiring.

Until then, she hopes to start getting to know as many students, staff members and families as possible.

"First and foremost is just listening, learning and collaborating," Norton said.

Toward that end, she plans to attend upcoming events, whether they're basketball games or school plays.