For Johna Schullian, a 1991 Herrin High School graduate, the lessons of teamwork and communication she learned as a competitive cheerleader have proven invaluable in her current role overseeing educational stability for thousands of students experiencing housing insecurity.

As Comptroller and Director of the McKinney-Vento program for Regional Office of Education #21, Schullian manages a vital federal initiative that most people outside education circles have never heard of—yet impacts thousands of vulnerable students across Southern Illinois.

"McKinney-Vento is intended to protect the educational rights of students who are experiencing housing insecurity for whatever reason," Schullian explains. "If they don't have a fixed, regular, or adequate home, they would be eligible for McKinney-Vento services."

Schullian's connection to Herrin runs deep. Her mother attended Herrin schools, as did Schullian from kindergarten through high school graduation. Her husband, Brian, is also a Herrin graduate. The couple's two daughters, Hunter and Tori, continued the family tradition, attending Our Lady of Mount Carmel through eighth grade before graduating from Herrin High School.

After graduation, Schullian attended John A. Logan College for a year before transferring to the University of Illinois, where she earned a bachelor's degree in Business Administration in 1995. She later added a master's degree in Workforce Education from Southern Illinois University while working at the Regional Office of Education—where she has remained since February 1997.

Her career path was influenced by Kathy Dann, her high school business teacher. "I just loved her accounting classes, and that kind of led me to the Business Administration degree," Schullian recalls.

For the past ten years, Schullian has directed the McKinney-Vento program across the lower 27 counties of Illinois. It's a massive responsibility covering 123 school districts and over 260 school buildings. Last year alone, the program identified nearly 7,000 students experiencing housing insecurity—believed to be the highest concentration outside the Chicago metropolitan area.

The program provides vital supports that many people don't realize exist. Students who lose their housing can remain in their original school even if they must relocate to a different district—a critical provision since studies show students lose four to six months of academic achievement with each school transfer.

"Should they end up in Marion and still want to attend Herrin, those two school districts would work together to provide transportation if the family needed that," Schullian explains. "We can also provide any kind of school supplies, hygiene items, whatever might be a need for that family or student to attend school, get enrolled in school, or be successful in school."

The program also ensures immediate enrollment for students experiencing homelessness, even without typically required documents like immunization records or previous school transcripts.

To manage this extensive territory, Schullian has developed a network of regional liaisons who serve as her contacts across Southern Illinois. "Each district in the country is required to have a McKinney-Vento liaison who is trained in their district on what the law is," Schullian notes. "We train those liaisons and as many staff members as we can on what the McKinney-Vento law is and what those services are."

The complex coordination required recalls the teamwork Schullian developed during her years as a competitive cheerleader at Herrin High School, where she was part of a squad that competed at the national level in Texas. "Teamwork, communication, just like it was in cheerleading years ago, is just as critical today in the work that I do," she reflects.

Today, Schullian lives with her family in Carterville (though with a Herrin school district address) and continues to take pride in her Herrin roots. Her daughters have both pursued higher education at SIU Carbondale, with her oldest earning a doctorate in physical therapy from South College in Knoxville, and her youngest currently pursuing the same degree at Belmont University in Nashville.

Through her work, Schullian ensures that students facing some of life's most difficult challenges don't have to sacrifice their education in the process—embodying the community values and teamwork spirit she developed during her years in the Herrin school system.