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St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lee Enterprises

Sunday, August 3, 2008 10:03 PM CDT
Charleston athletics director leaving for Sullivan

By BRIAN NIELSEN, Sports Editor
bnielsen@jg-tc.com

CHARLESTON -- Jerry Calandrilla is taking a Sullivan Middle School job hoping he enjoys as much as he has the past eight years at Charleston.

Calling the opportunity at Sullivan one he could not turn down, Calandrilla is leaving his position as athletics director for Charleston’s high school and middle school as well as an assistant principal at the middle school.

“Coming out of Indiana State I applied at Charleston on a whim and it quickly became home for me,” he said. “The friendships I’ve made here and the experience, it’s been phenomenal.

“The No.1 thing that keeps you in the school district is the kids you work with. The graduates we have at Charleston I’d put up with any in the state.”

Calandrilla came to Charleston as an assistant football coach for a program that had won just one game each of the two previous seasons. After going through rebuilding pains of 0-9 and 1-8 seasons, the Trojans under head coach Brian Halsey now have gone to the IHSA playoffs in five of the last six years with Calandrilla serving as defensive coordinator.

Already this year Calandrilla had resigned from his assistant football coaching duties.

Now he and his wife, Lauren, and their son Trey are to make the move to Sullivan as he continues his career in administration. He taught in the classroom for six years at Charleston before becoming assistant principal and athletics director.

“The nice thing about Sullivan is it is a school that fully commits to education just like Charleston,” Calandrilla said. “We’re truly blessed because we’re moving from one community that has embraced us to another nice community that hopefully will embrace us.”

Contact Brian Nielsen at bnielsen@jg-tc.com or 238-686

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Eduk8r wrote on Aug 4, 2008 7:10 AM:

" Good luck, Jerry! I wish you all the best in Sullivan. Sullivan is a fantastic district. "