New DPS 61 superintendent Dr. Nicole Nash Moody lays out priorities for first year

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — As students prepare to return to classrooms across Decatur Public Schools District 61, there is also a new face leading the district.

Dr. Nicole Nash Moody begins her first school year as superintendent of Decatur Public Schools, taking over at a time when the district is navigating financial challenges, declining enrollment and long-term decisions about the future of its schools.

Moody said her priority is not a test score or a number on a spreadsheet. It is culture.

“The focus, particularly in the first year, is all about the culture of Decatur Public Schools,” she told WAND News.

The DPS Board of Education formally selected Moody as superintendent in February. She replaced Superintendent Dr. Rochelle Clark.

While Moody is new to the district, she is not new to education. She is beginning her 27th year in the field, a career she first envisioned when she was only in second grade. After attending Illinois State University, she began teaching in Springfield before moving into administration.

Her career has included work with the Illinois State Board of Education, serving as an assistant principal and principal in Springfield, working as a principal in St. Louis, and spending the past decade in district leadership. Most recently, Moody served as assistant superintendent of Teaching, Learning and School Culture for Springfield Public Schools District 186.

Despite spending much of her life in Springfield, she said her move to Decatur has also felt like a homecoming.

“My maternal grandmother was actually from Decatur, so I’m blessed. Someone said it, but it’s true ... that I’m coming home,” she said.

Moody said her family is also moving to Decatur and her children will attend DPS schools.

“I want to be a part of the community,” she said. “My family’s moving here too, so that’s what’s most important to me. Yes, I’m here to do a job, and I’m going to do it. And we’ve got a great team, and we’ve got great plans in store.”

Moody enters the superintendent’s office with several challenges already in front of her.

In January, WAND News reported a demographer warned DPS leaders that the district faces declining enrollment driven by factors including Decatur’s aging population, housing availability, private school enrollment and competition from neighboring school districts.

Moody said improving test scores cannot simply mean preparing students to take a standardized test. Instead, she believes academic progress begins by creating schools where students, staff and families feel like they belong.

“Improving test scores doesn’t start by practicing for the test. Improving test scores starts by improving the culture,” she said.

She acknowledged that not every family living in Decatur currently views the public school system as their first choice.

“We’re on the road to changing that mindset,” she said. “And it starts with the culture. It starts with how our schools look, how our schools feel.”

That means families need to believe their children are receiving a high-quality education, are being challenged academically and are safe inside their schools, she said. At the same time, Moody said the district must ensure it has strong curriculum, instruction and assessments in place.

“Yet we will not see the growth in that until we see the growth in our culture,” she said.

Part of that work, she said, is examining whether DPS buildings feel welcoming to families, which includes parents and guardians who may not have had positive experiences in school themselves.

“We’re recreating, reimagining what school is not only for our children, but also for our families,” she said.

That focus on culture also extends to teachers and staff. Moody said she does not want to forget that before becoming an administrator, she was a classroom teacher.

“My most important role or job in education was being a teacher,” she said.

She said decisions ultimately have to center on what is best for students, but she believes one of the most effective ways to accomplish that is by supporting the adults responsible for educating them.

“My focus is the adults, making sure that they’re cared for, making sure that they are supported, that they feel a sense of belonging in our culture,” she said. “When our adults feel that, guess what? They’re going to do that for our children.”

Moody is also taking over as DPS continues work on Roadmap 2030, the district’s long-term strategic planning initiative.

The plan has generated significant community discussion. WAND News previously reported that community members and some school board members raised concerns about portions of the plan, particularly proposals involving school consolidation and moving students.

In March, the district held additional community forums at Eisenhower and MacArthur high schools as part of the second phase of Roadmap 2030, seeking input from families and residents about the district’s future.

Moody said she studied Roadmap 2030 before even interviewing for the superintendent position. She said she does not view her job as arriving in Decatur with a completely new vision and replacing the work already underway.

“Folks might be disappointed, but I say I don’t bring my own vision,” she explained. “If anything I can say, my vision for Decatur Public Schools is hope.”

For Moody, that does not mean simply wishing the district’s challenges away.

“When a collective group of individuals comes together to say, ‘Yes, we can. Yes, we will. We know it’s hard’ ... yet we can do it together. That’s the hope,” she said. “So if I bring any vision on top of Roadmap 2030, it’s hope that we can do this.”

Community involvement will remain an important part of that process. Moody said she began meeting with people and community organizations after the school board hired her in February, before her official contract began.

“We cannot do this alone in schools. We have to have community partners,” she said.

Moody will also have to make difficult financial decisions. When DPS hired her in February, she told WAND News that despite difficult fiscal conditions, the district still has resources and must prioritize how those resources are used. Those challenges became especially visible earlier this year when DPS announced it would end its Extended Day program after federal COVID relief funding expired.

The program had provided free before- and after-school care, homework assistance and meals to families. WAND News previously reported district leaders said ending the program would save millions of dollars and that additional cuts were expected.

Moody said the district is now entering a different financial reality.

“We’re going to have to trim,” she said. “So there’s some things that we’re going to have to say no to.”

She said district leaders will work with the finance committee and chief operational officer to create a five-year financial forecast, with spending decisions tied to DPS strategic goals.

“When we prioritize and set those priorities before we spend, it won’t all the time be easy, but our children and our teachers will still have what they need to teach in the classroom,” Moody said.

For families who previously relied on Extended Day, DPS is partnering with Champions to provide before- and after-school programming. Unlike Extended Day, the program comes with a cost, although Moody said there is a fee structure for families who need financial support. She said she understands the frustration surrounding the change not only as superintendent, but also as a parent.

“I’m a mom of six, and I have small ones that need that care, too,” she said. “So I realize what that means to the bottom line of your monthly budget.”

Another policy Moody is inheriting is DPS’ restriction on student cell phone use. WAND News reported in 2024 that DPS updated its policy to require students to keep phones in lockers or designated classroom locations during the school day.

Moody dealt with similar restrictions while working in Springfield and said consistency among staff is critical. She recently spoke with students at freshman orientations at both Decatur high schools, encouraging them to think about putting away their phones as removing a distraction rather than as a punishment.

“The cell phone itself is a wonderful tool for resources, for information. Yet there’s a time and a place for it,” she said. “The cell phone is not a place for the school or the classroom.”

Moody will experience her first year in Decatur Public Schools from two perspectives. The first as superintendent and the second as a parent.

Her six children span elementary, middle and high school ages, giving her what she described as a “front row seat” to the district.

“Being a mom of six makes being a superintendent more than professional. It’s personal for me,” she said.

As the first day approaches, she said her family is going through the same back-to-school routine as thousands of other DPS families, like buying supplies, shoes and clothes and trying to get children back to a normal sleep schedule. But when she puts on her superintendent hat, Moody said she hopes families will allow the district to continue moving forward.