Susan Winborn Heil Seeks Re-election to Fayetteville School Board

July 08, 2008:  Susan Winborn Heil has announced plans to seek re-election to the Fayetteville School Board.  Heil has served on the board since 2001 and currently serves as its secretary.  She has been recognized as one of  Arkansas’ Outstanding School Board Members by the Arkansas School Board Association and has attained Master School Board Member designation which indicates numerous hours of school board related education.

“The education our children receive is important to me.  With fifteen years of corporate experience at IBM in business, finance and technology and seven years as a FPS school board member, I have had and will continue to have a significant impact on the direction of Fayetteville schools.  Providing time and leadership to our community has been a way of life for three generations of my family.  What better way is there to continue that tradition than working with the education of our children?”

Heil has been an advocate of preparing students and teachers for their future through the use of technology.  Under her advocacy for 21st century skills and technology integration in the classroom, the board approved capital projects to upgrade the district's network and infrastructure to include: narrowing the student-to- computer ratio to an average of 3 to 1, and installing "intelligent classroom" equipment in every classroom which included projectors, screens, and multimedia speakers, providing T1 calculators and probes, interactive white boards, and classroom response systems.  All teachers received wireless laptops in 2004 and one third of them will receive new ones this year.  Students now have access to wireless laptops in the classrooms.  Heil is the regional coordinator for the License to Learn program, a foundation which is dedicated to providing academically qualified students with technology.  Susan's efforts to improve district communications included working with the district Communications Team on the web redesign that was placed online in June of 2008.

 Heil is pleased with the direction the board has taken during her tenure.  The board has prioritized providing the district with top paid teachers, made additions or renovations to Vandergriff, Root, Leverett, Holcomb, Asbell, and Woodland schools with a major renovation currently underway at Butterfield Elementary.  Construction of a new elementary/middle school, Owl Creek, was completed as well.  With the board’s leadership, a new position of Assistant Superintendent for Student Life Services was created to focus on the connection each student has with their school and community.   Sustainability initiatives have begun at every school to study the impact we have on our environment and implement improvements. 

Heil is proud of the commitment she has made to the board and its work.  She has accumulated 496 hours of volunteer work with the board in the ‘07/08 school year alone.  “I don’t have a long list of committees that I am involved in outside of my school board committees because I feel it is important to give your full attention to the things you commit to.  There is still so much left to be done.  Our board has many important issues on the table,   hiring a new Superintendent, the possible Greenland annexation, a potential millage vote, and  the new high school project to name a few.  I am looking forward to putting in the work needed to complete these projects successfully and provide the leadership that maps the direction of Fayetteville Public Schools for years to come.”

“Maintaining Fayetteville Public School’s reputation for high academic standards and forward thinking is important.  I am proud to have graduated from and to be associated with a school system that is regionally and nationally competitive.  The Fayetteville School District is nationally competitive in its academic excellence, the rigor of its curricula, and its use of fiscal resources,” said Heil.  “In today’s fast changing world, it is my challenge to ensure that I work with the community of Fayetteville and all of the patrons to ensure that this success continues well into the future.” 

In addition to the work Heil does on the school board, she is a member of P.E.O. and St. Joseph Catholic Church.

She is married to Eric Heil who is with Motorola Corporation.  They have three children, two who attend Fayetteville Public Schools and a third at the University of Arkansas.