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Andrew Jordan Principal: Building Better Schools One Idea at a Time
27 Jul 2026
Education is full of big conversations about funding, policy, and reform. Andrew Jordan Principal believes meaningful change often starts somewhere much smaller.
Throughout his career, Jordan has focused on finding practical solutions to everyday problems inside schools. Whether redesigning an unused room, creating stronger student support systems, or securing competitive grants, he has built a reputation for taking ideas from concept to reality through steady execution rather than flashy promises.
His approach has earned statewide recognition, including being named the Illinois Principals Association Principal of the Year in 2022. More importantly, it has helped students, teachers, and communities benefit from improvements that continue long after the ribbon cutting.
“You don’t have to solve every challenge this week,” Jordan says. “You just have to solve the one sitting in front of you.”
How Andrew Jordan Principal Built a Career in Educational Leadership
Jordan grew up in Stockton, Illinois, where teamwork and community were part of everyday life. As quarterback of Stockton High School’s football team, he helped lead the programme to the 2004 state championship game.
Looking back, he sees football as one of his first leadership classrooms.
“When you’re standing behind center, everybody expects you to know the next play,” he says. “I learned to stay calm, make a decision, and trust the people around me.”
After graduating from Stockton High School, Jordan attended Highland Community College before earning his bachelor’s degree from Northern Illinois University. He later completed master’s degrees through Western Illinois University and continued his professional development at the University of Illinois at Springfield.
Rather than chasing titles, Jordan focused on learning every level of school leadership. He worked as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, and superintendent at Donovan CUSD #3.
“Each position gave me another piece of the puzzle,” he says. “By the time I became superintendent, I understood what every department needed to do its job.”
Turning Small Projects Into Big Results
One of Jordan’s biggest successes started with a room most people ignored.
The school library had become underused. Students rarely visited, and teachers seldom scheduled activities there. Instead of requesting major renovations, Jordan looked around the building for available resources.
“We found tables sitting in storage, moved furniture from other rooms, and painted the walls,” he says. “The goal wasn’t to make it perfect. The goal was to make students want to walk through the door.”
The room quickly became an active student media centre used for tutoring, collaborative learning, and independent study.
That early success later helped support a $210,693 Stronger Connections Grant through the Illinois State Board of Education.
“We proved the idea before asking anyone to invest in it,” Jordan says. “That’s a much stronger story than asking people to believe something might work.”
Entrepreneurial Lessons That Improved Schools
Long before leading a school district, Jordan was building businesses.
He co-owned J3 Timing and Wine Run 5K events with his brother, managing race operations across Illinois. He also created the Stockton 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament, running the event for 15 years while raising more than $50,000 for community causes.
Those experiences changed how he approaches education.
“When you organise races, there isn’t much room for excuses,” he says. “People expect things to start on time and run smoothly. Schools deserve that same level of organisation.”
Instead of adding complicated systems, Jordan looks for ways to simplify work. He shortens meetings, removes unnecessary steps, and encourages teams to solve problems while they are still small.
Why Weekly Progress Matters
Jordan believes improvement should never wait until the end of the school year.
During grant-funded tutoring programmes, his staff reviewed student progress every week instead of relying only on major testing periods.
He remembers one student who attended every tutoring session but continued struggling with reading.
“We realised the materials were too difficult,” Jordan says. “We changed the reading level the following week instead of waiting months. The student’s confidence came back almost immediately.”
That experience reinforced his belief that regular feedback creates better decisions.
“Small adjustments made consistently usually beat one big adjustment made too late,” he says.
Leadership Beyond the School Building
Jordan’s work extends beyond his district.
He serves on the state committee for the Illinois Masonic Student Assistance Program, helping provide professional development opportunities to schools across Illinois. He has also contributed to State Representative Jason Bunting’s Educational Committee and presented at the Raising Student Achievement State Academic Conference.
His focus remains practical.
“The best ideas usually come from conversations with teachers, students, and parents,” he says. “My job is to remove obstacles so those ideas have a chance to grow.”
Building Success Through Consistent Action
Andrew Jordan Principal has never built his career around dramatic change.
Instead, he has focused on steady improvements that solve real problems.
Whether securing grant funding, redesigning learning spaces, supporting teachers, or strengthening community partnerships, his work follows the same pattern: identify the need, test the solution, measure the results, and keep improving.
“You don’t need perfect conditions,” Jordan says. “You need people who are willing to start.”
That philosophy has shaped his career and continues to influence the students, educators, and communities he serves. It is a reminder that meaningful leadership is often measured not by the size of an idea, but by the willingness to bring it to life.
