Hall of Leaders - Retired Educators

Janet Tilley has worked in public education for more than 45 years, including 29 years with the Columbia Public Schools.

During her time at CPS, Janet was an English teacher at West Junior High School and at Hickman High School. She also worked as the K-12 language arts coordinator at CPS for five years. Janet has also served as a literacy consultant. Since 2013, she has been the senior director for training and research for the Missouri School Boards’ Association, instructing new and veteran school board members from around the state about the intricacies of school board work, meeting protocols, budgets and laws that govern school districts.

During her career, Janet earned National Board Certification for Secondary Language Arts and fellowships with the National Holocaust Museum and Memorial and the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. She has published several articles in both state and national journals on teaching poetry and reading to adolescent. Janet also has presented research and training sessions at the national level. She holds bachelor’s degrees in English and theater from Missouri State University and a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Mary Korth-Lloyd retired from Columbia Public Schools in 2014, after a 31-year career as an educator. Throughout her career, Mary has served as a mentor to countless educators and administrators across the district.

Mary began her CPS career as a classroom teacher at Mill Creek Elementary and, while there, also was a Fellows Mentor. During her time at CPS, she also was a literacy coach for several schools. She served Rock Bridge Elementary as the assistant principal and then as the principal for 12 years. As principal, she chose to go back to the classroom to teach first grade for a year, affording her a deeper understanding of the evolution of the teaching role. She retired when those first graders graduated from fifth grade. Since retirement, she has served as an administrator substitute for CPS for the past 12 years, stepping in to serve as acting principal when a school has the need. She has worked as acting principal at Rock Bridge, Shepard and Locust Elementary Schools, as well as interim principal at Derby Ridge Elementary.

Mary is a member of Up to Good, serving as the liaison for the Links to Learning awards, is a substitute driver for Meals on Wheels, and a member of the Missouri Retired Teachers Association.

Susan Maglich retired from the Columbia Public Schools in 2008 after teaching for more than thirty years. Susan served as a first grade teacher and Title 1 reading instructor at Blue Ridge Elementary, and as a building team leader and first grade teacher at Grant Elementary. As a literacy leader, she has used her skills to teach countless CPS students how to read.

Susan also spent her career mentoring other teachers in literacy instruction as a Title 1 team leader, as a grade level leader, as a mentor of student teachers, and as a developer of literacy curriculum.

After retiring from Columbia Public Schools, Susan led the Rollins Reading Group Double Dose Reading Program at Grant Elementary. The program’s goal was to develop and implement extra reading instruction for young students reading below their grade level. Susan built the program from scratch, developing the curriculum and teaching children.

Throughout ten years of implementation, more than 450 students participated in the program, and its graduates continued to read and score at or above their expected grade level.

Susan has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Stephens College and a master’s of education degree in special reading and learning disabilities from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She has been honored as the Outstanding K-3 Elementary Educator by the Columbia Fund for Academic Excellence and as the Columbia Teacher Association’s Elementary Teacher of the Year.

Linda Harlan retired in 2011 after a teaching career with the Columbia Public Schools spanning more than three decades. She began her career at CPS teaching English and Humanities at Rock Bridge High School when it first opened in 1973.

As an original member of the Rock Bridge High School faculty, she was a leader in the development of all of the programs, activities and curricula at the school. Linda served as the first sponsor of the school newspaper, “The Rock.”

For twenty-two years, she team taught Humanities at Rock Bridge with Conrad Stawski, founder of the Humanities program in the Columbia Public Schools. Their Humanities program was recognized statewide. Linda frequently took students on field trips and brought in guest speakers like music legend Chuck Berry. After Conrad Stawski retired, Linca continued to teach Humanities, with Mr. Stawski as a frequent guest.

When Hickman High School needed a Humanities teacher, Linda agreed to teach at both Rock Bridge and Hickman. She taught Humanities and film studies at Hickman High School, where she also sponsored the Film Club and co-sponsored the school’s Amnesty International chapter.

Linda has a bachelor’s degree in English and secondary education, cum laude, from Central Methodist University. She is a member of the Missouri Retired Teachers Association and the Boone County Retired Teachers Association. Among her honors, she is the recipient of the National Council of Teachers of English Center of Excellence Award for Humanities curriculum.

Beverly Borduin retired in 2011 after serving as principal of Grant Elementary for six years. During a nearly thirty-year career with Columbia Public Schools, her previous roles included serving as the assistant principal at West Boulevard Elementary, teaching grades 2-5 at Grant Elementary, and teaching grades 1-2 at Blue Ridge Elementary.

As principal at Grant, Beverly developed partnerships with the community, wrote and received numerous grants for the school, and continued to publish and present at conferences. She was known for her child-focused style of leadership and was beloved by teachers, students and families alike. After a fire decimated a mobile classroom, she joined with community volunteers to build the EcoSchoolhouse to take its place. Since retiring, she worked to establish a partnership with the Rollins Company to create a Montessori preschool at Grant, providing early childhood education and literacy to young students across the economic spectrum, a Double Dose Reading program serving 450 children, and a Books N Bags program distributing more than 7,500 books to kindergartners at Title 1 schools.

Among her honors, Beverly was recognized with both the Outstanding Administrator and the Outstanding K-3 Teacher Awards from the Columbia Fund for Academic Excellence.

Beverly received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, as well as a master’s in elementary administration and an education specialist’s degree in educational leadership and policy analysis, both from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Sue Young retired in 2005 after a 17-year career teaching at Rock Bridge Elementary for the Columbia Public Schools (CPS). She primarily taught fourth grade, with one year at third grade and two years as a Fellows Program mentor. In addition to engaging her students, she served on district committees and led fellow teachers in RBE Teachers as Readers. This teacher-organized group met year-round to read professional literature to enhance teaching and develop student-centered programs. She also shared her expertise and innovative teaching strategies through professional development workshops and collaborative projects.

Sue previously taught elementary grades for the Elmhurst, Illinois Public Schools and for Iowa City, Ia. Public Schools, as well as teaching middle school/junior high gifted education for the Fulton, Mo. Public Schools. Sue has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia. As a senior year on-site clinical faculty/liaison at the University of Missouri-Columbia, she helped lead and prepare the next generation of teachers. Since retiring from CPS, she gathers monthly with other RBE retirees.

Sue received a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Tulsa as well as a master’s and doctorate in curriculum and instruction from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Among her honors, she was awarded the Outstanding Elementary Teacher of the Year, grades 3-5, from the Columbia Fund for Excellence.

Mary Humlicek retired after a 30-year career with Columbia Public Schools (CPS), serving 25 years as the district’s Title 1 coordinator. As Title 1 coordinator, she was responsible for overseeing the federal program, which included coordinating and evaluating projects including preschool, Reading Recovery, reading intervention and extended time summer programs. She developed the early childhood program and oversaw all aspects of the program as it grew from serving 30 children to more than 600 during her tenure. She previously worked for CPS as a secondary reading teacher and secondary reading consultant.

Prior to joining CPS, Mary taught elementary education in Nebraska, Tennessee and Wisconsin. She has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a master’s in education-reading from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and also completed graduate course work at the University of Missouri-Columbia and Lindenwood University.

Mary is active in the community and is currently serving a second term as president of the Assistance League of Mid-Missouri. She served as chair of the Links to Learning committee, which provides grants to CPS teachers. She is a former board member of First Chance for Children, past president of the Missouri Association of Reading Recovery Educators and is a member of Broadway Christian Church.

Chris Belcher served as superintendent of the Columbia Public Schools (CPS) from 2009-2014. During his tenure, he established a 10-year long range facilities plan, which included plans to reduce the number of mobile classrooms, and a five-year model for budget planning. He began the design and planning for a third high school, including redrawing district boundaries, and realigned the secondary school configuration to combine middle and junior high schools, eliminating a transition for students. He also implemented the Achievement via Individual Determination (AVID) program, still in use today, to help close the achievement gap for students.

Chris began his teaching career as a high school chemistry teacher in the Holden School District. He then served as an assistant principal at Liberty Junior High School and as principal at Blue Springs High School before becoming an assistant to the superintendent for the Blue Springs School District. He also was the assistant superintendent for student services for the Warrensburg School District. Following his tenure with CPS, Chris taught education at both the University of Missouri-Columbia and the University of Central Missouri.

Chris received his bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry, a master’s in educational administration, and an education specialist degree in educational administration, all from the University of Central Missouri, and a doctor of education degree in educational leadership from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Among his honors, he has been recognized as the Administrator of the Year by the Missouri School Public Relations Association.