CONSTANCE JACKSON
Athletic Director
Manual High School
Occupation: Constance Jackson is athletic director at Manual High School. She coordinates roughly 20 sports and activities, from basketball and football to e-sports, scholastic bowl, and speech. Her responsibilities include scheduling, arranging transportation and hiring officials. She also views part of her role as building school spirit for all sports and activities. Prior to being the athletic director, she volunteered and coached track and field for Peoria Public Schools for 20 years. She has also coached cross country and dance.
Community Involvement: Ms. Jackson has coached Junior League Football (JFL) and volunteered with the track club, One Motion Track and Field, and the student ministry of St. Paul Baptist Church. She is a member of the Peoria alumni chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Inc.
Education: Bachelor of arts, accounting, Monmouth College
Three things she’s passionate about: “Serving, helping youth (all of my hobbies involve kids), and the arts (dance, poetry).”
Three favorite hobbies: Solving puzzles, running, writing
Career influence or inspiration: Her successes, her failures and a track coach/athletic director, Roger Haynes, inspire her passion to work with young people, particularly those who need a second chance. She has been a star student-athlete, earning academic honors and in Monmouth’s record books for track and field. She has also been the new mother, still on the track team while working two part-time jobs who ended up with failing grades. She left school in 2002. She had two more children, but she returned to school in 2010, commuting to Monmouth daily. She graduated, and as a seven-time All-American, she was also inducted into Monmouth’s Hall of Fame. She remains close to Mr. Haynes, who taught her as much about life as he did about track and field.
Inspirational quote: “Don’t count your days. Make your days count.” Muhammad Ali
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