Can you tell people who might not know you a little about yourself? Family? Education?
I am Jill (Diel) Bierman and I am beginning my 6th year as the proud principal at St.Thomas Catholic School. I am married to Ben Bierman who is the son of Bill and the late Joan (Jansen) Bierman. My parents are Garry and Dara Diel and I have one sister, Amanda (Jeff) Zumbahlen.
I grew up in Jasper County, graduating from NCHS in 1993 with my husband and we are happy to be raising our 4 children here: Eliza (17) Lily (15) Gus (14) Lucy (11). Our oldest two are at NCHS and the younger two are in 8th and 6th grades at St. Thomas.
What made you decide to go into education?
I knew I wanted to be a teacher in 6th grade, maybe even younger. Not until I had Mrs. Loretta Wiman, did I know I wanted to teach Speech and English. She was and still is the teacher I respect the most. I was lucky to teach with her for a little while before she retired. I never had aspirations for being an administrator, but I’ve worked with some great ones, so I’m trying to apply the good and embrace it. St. Thomas is a great place to be – great staff, great boss, supportive and involved families and awesome kids.
What are some of the greatest strengths you feel our school District has?
I attended OCC and then EIU where I graduated in 1997. I taught for 16 years at NCHS and JCJH as an English/Speech/Language Arts teacher, grades 7-11, and enjoyed sponsoring Student Council for ten years after Jerry Denoyer, who was my sponsor, retired. It was an honor to work with several of my former teachers and many awesome teachers who are still there. In 2014, after finishing my Masters Degree, I was hired as the principal at St. Thomas School where all four of my children attended at the time. I am currently teaching 6th-8th grade writing as well as being the principal at St. Thomas and I love it!
Being a former student and teacher from Jasper Unit #1, there are many strengths I can think of. Most importantly, I know that my kids have people who care about them when they go to school every day. They are not just a number or another person roaming the halls. I hear often from staff members about my kids and that makes me feel good about sending my kids to St. Thomas and NCHS.
How have educational priorities changed since you began teaching?
The priorities involving education have changed everywhere, because our society has changed so drastically. I think all schools are doing their best to address the changing field of education, but my prayer is always that we can get back to educating kids and making sure they are good people who are ready to serve their communities and work to support themselves. I don’t like to see the education world “giving in” so much. Our current students may be addicted to their phones, but letting them have them at school may not be what is best for their education or their future. Our students aren’t as good at communicating face to face, but I still want to see them made to communicate without an electronic device and social media. Education is simply put…tough.
What do you feel are the most important qualities of an educator and why?
When I was still teaching I would say that the most important qualities I needed to have were compassion for those who didn’t have as much, who didn’t excel in sports and who didn’t feel like they mattered. I also needed passion. I never stopped loving to teach the kids who came in my room and they knew I cared – I stopped loving education and that drained my passion a little bit. As a principal, I see the most important qualities in my staff every day – love, faith, compassion, perseverance, flexibility and passion. Together, they have it all. I’m proud to be their administrator and consider all of them my friends.
