Alton Elementary School Principal JoAnne Curvey is "Redbird Through and Through" as She Prepares to Retire

ALTON - JoAnne Curvey is “a Redbird through and through.”

Curvey, who currently serves as the principal of Gilson Brown Elementary School, jokes that she started in the Alton Community Unit School District #11 as a kindergartener in 1971. A few decades later, Curvey is preparing to retire and can’t wait to celebrate her 38 years in education.

“Teaching is the best job ever, and it's such an important job,” she said. “Everything comes from what we do here at the primary level. You're teaching everybody to read and you're teaching them to write so they can be ready for all those next steps. Just watching kids learn and just being around their infectious energy every day keeps you going.”

Curvey always knew she wanted to be a teacher. As an elementary school student in the district, she loved pretending to grade papers and teach lessons. She graduated from Alton High School, then SIUE, and took a teaching job at St. Ambrose Catholic School, her home parish.

It wasn’t long before Curvey transitioned into the Alton School District, as she always wanted to teach in the district and happily accepted a job as a third grade teacher at Gilson Brown in 1997. She went on to teach at several different elementary schools in Alton, mostly in fifth grade classrooms.

Mark Cappel encouraged Curvey to consider an administrator’s role. She eventually went back to school to get a master’s in reading instruction, a specialist in administration, and a superintendency endorsement.

In 2008, she was appointed the assistant principal at East Elementary and then became the principal at Gilson Brown. She thinks it’s “really cool” that she spent 19 years as a teacher and then 19 years as an administrator as she rounds out her 38th year in education this summer.

As an administrator, Curvey loves that she is able to support teachers and watch them grow. She never thought she would become a principal, but she clearly shines in the role.

“The teachers that I have worked with in my career have been so dedicated and just truly masters in their craft,” she said. “I get to watch teachers teach. Their energy and their passion for their students is incredible. It seems like every year, teachers are asked to do more and it’s harder, and they do and they can. Just watching the kids benefit from that and then watching teachers really grow in their craft has been a very exciting part of this job.”

Curvey is pleased that the majority of her career was spent in the Alton School District. She noted that the district is always focused on doing what’s best for the students, and she is proud to be a part of that legacy.

“Alton has been by my side all the way through my professional career,” she said. “Alton is constantly looking for growth. They're constantly looking at best practices to make sure that what we're doing is giving the students the best experience that they can have and getting them ready for life after high school.”

That “love” for Alton makes Curvey’s retirement a little bittersweet, but she’s not disappearing. She plans to travel with her husband — Alton High School assistant principal Vernon Curvey, who is also retiring this year — and spend time with her kids and grandchildren.

But she also hopes to continue subbing in the district and stay active in the community as a volunteer and educator. She wants to hit 50 years in education by the time her career is officially done. She plans to continue teaching principalship courses at SIUE, which she enjoys now.

The Alton School District will surely be sad to lose Curvey, but they look forward to seeing her continued success. After all, as Curvey said, her fellow teachers and administrators are more than colleagues.

“Many of the teachers that I work with, I have taught in the past, which is really cool. I've had their kids. Now I'm having kids of students that I have taught,” she said. “It's family.”

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