ROSSVILLE — Since coming to the Rossville-Alvin school district in 2009, Crystal Johnson has worn several different hats including grade school principal, athletic director and assistant superintendent.

This month, she put on a new one: district chief.

And at 28, Johnson has the distinction of being the youngest Illinois schools superintendent based on the most recent data, which is from 2009-10, according to an Illinois State Board of Education spokesman.

Johnson, who was appointed to the position in November, succeeds Randy Hird, who served as superintendent from 2008 to 2010 and as interim superintendent this past year. She will continue to serve as principal of the pre-K-8 school.

Johnson has a three-year contract with the district. She will earn $95,000 during the first year.

"She's young, but I'm very confident she can do the job and will do it well," said school board President Bob Ray, who was not on the board when Johnson was hired.

"She has all of the qualities I've seen in the good administrators that I've worked with," continued Ray, who served on the board for eight years in the 1980s and 1990s. "She takes a lot of pride in her work. Her work ethic is excellent And she's displayed that she's willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done and see that it's done well.

And, Ray added, it's evident that Johnson cares about students.

"If you don't care about the kids, it's just a business," he said.

Johnson hails from East Peoria. She earned a bachelor's degree in special education from Illinois State University in 2006, and a master's degree in educational administration from Eastern Illinois University in 2009. She finished work on her superintendent's endorsement at Eastern last August and received it once she had two years of administrative experience under her belt.

Johnson taught third-, fourth- and fifth-grade special education in the East Peoria school district from 2006 to 2008. She taught English for special-education 11th-graders at Pekin High School for a year before becoming an administrator in the Rossville-Alvin district.

Johnson said the last two years have prepared her to take on the top job.

"Randy (Hird) gave me the opportunity to have lots of hands-on experience in a lot of different areas," said Johnson, who eventually took on athletic director and assistant superintendent duties as well.

"It's a great opportunity to be able to transition within the same district," she continued, adding she has loved living and working in a small community. "And it's so nice to know that I'm not going to lose that direct connection with the students. I can walk through the building and see the students everyday. And to me, that's the best the part of the job."

As superintendent, Johnson manages a district of roughly 35 employees, 285 pre-K-8 students and 120 high school students who attend Bismarck-Henning or Hoopeston Area high schools because the local high school currently is deactivated. She also manages an annual budget of about $3.5 million.

Johnson is already busy hiring new staffers, preparing the 2011-12 budget, finishing state reports and grant applications, ordering supplies and "so many other little things" to get ready for the upcoming school year. This year, she also plans to focus on improving the curriculum and incorporating more technology, assisting the board as it continues to study whether to reopen the high school, which has been closed since 2006, and meeting the other challenges of the job.

"At this point in time, it's the budget," she said. "But we're going to make the best of it, and give our kids the best education we can give them."