David Lerch has been teaching for 17 years. He graduated with his bachelor’s degree from Illinois College in 2007, his master’s degree from SIUE in 2010 and his EDS in Principalship from SIUE in 2023.  He’s taught a variety of grades from 5th grade to 8th grade. He has also taught subjects ranging from ELA, Math, Science, and Social Studies.  He’s also coached both basketball and football for 10 years.  In 2020 he moved out of the classroom and into a Instructional Coach position that combined technology coaching, professional development, administrative work, SEL coaching and community outreach.  In 2023 he became the safe school principal and educational programs director at ROE 45 where he continues to work on educating technology best practices, SEL implementation, school programs and advocate for students in credit-recovery programs.    David is a Google for Education certified trainer and coach.  He’s presented across Illinois and Missouri at a variety of conferences such as IETC, IDEA Con, and IDEAU.  He’s also worked with dozens of school districts and ROEs to support teachers, offer training in a variety of topics and help educators improve their technology and instructional practices.  David has served the Illinois State Board of Education in helping develop Remote Learning Standards and acted as part of a Teacher Advisory Group to help update the Illinois State Museum resources and exhibits.  David is a Global Google Education Group Leader, Southern Illinois Google Education Group Leader and co-host of the Ed Tech Distilled podcast with Adam Geisen.  David is also the recipient of the Illinois Principal Association Pipeline Program Scholarship for 2022.  David was the recipient of the 2019 Emerson Excellence in Teaching Award and the Those Who Excel Award for Student Support Personal in 2023 from the Illinois State Board of Education.      He’s a lifelong learner, fan of the St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues and loves all things basketball!  He's an avid music fan who loves U2 and Wilco.  He lives in Red Bud, Illinois with his wife Stephanie and daughter Nora.  He has two dogs Bert, and Rollo.