SUPERINTENDENT SEARCH & PLANNING

NRCSA has had a very successful year this year in assisting 14 Boards of Education in choosing their next Superintendent of Schools. This year we have been asked to assist Ansley Public Schools, BruningDavenport (interim), Educational Service Unit #16, Lakeview Community Schools, Louisville Public Schools, Medicine Valley Public Schools, North Bend Central Public Schools, Randolph Public Schools, Ravenna Public Schools, South Central Unified #5 (interim), Southwest Public Schools, Superior Public Schools (Interim), Tekamah-Herman Public Schools, and Thayer Central Public Schools in their searches for their next Superintendents. NRCSA was also selected to assist the NSAA Board of Directors in its search for the next Executive Director of the NSAA. We also assisted Thayer Central on a Principal search.

If your district finds a need to locate your next school leader, please be sure to keep the NRCSA Superintendent Search Service in mind. For more information you can contact Executive Director Jack Moles at jmoles@ nrcsa.net or by phone at 402-335-7732.

It is a common practice for many Boards of Education and the Superintendent to conduct short and long-term planning. NRCSA does provide a quality service using experienced consultants. If you are interested in more information, please contact Executive Director Jack Moles.

From Dr. Jon Habben; NRCSA Federal Liaison:

I am forwarding our lobbyist’s report. We are still sharing with AASA, so there will always be items that you will wonder if they reflect a rural slant or not. This coming year will see how that shapes up.

The teacher retention and shortage issue is everywhere. We are even seeing the nearly defunct Teach for America attempting to re-invent itself as the need is being addressed from local to federal. But take notice of anything labeled “grow your own.” You may see funds attached to such programs from federal sources. It is hard to tell if such monies get to local small and rural districts. My guess is that such federal funds may need a portion designated for someone’s definition of rural, or may need to go through a state with a significant share of students from that state’s definition of rural. But in any case, you may want to begin that discussion locally if you haven’t already. Some states are willing to reduce requirements to become a classroom teacher more than others, but not something I would expect Nebraska to do much more than it already has. Note in the attachment, there is a link to state comparisons regarding the “teacher climate.” As with such comparisons, one might ask if the distinction is really a significant difference. There is also a link regarding teacher apprenticeship programs, as opposed to our standard student teaching process.

SYRACUSE-DUNBAR-AVOCA used the NRCSA Planning Service in 2022. NRCSA Consultants Rob Hanger and Fred Helmink assisted the district with its planning.

NRCSA Search Service Experience

NRCSA Planning Support Brochure

And anything with the word “equity” attached is worth paying attention to. There are two pieces, and links, in this attachment regarding Title IX and regarding Special Education. No surprise there. There is no question about the level of activity on both fronts. Stay informed, trust but verify, communicate with parents, train and train more, supervise, and stay connected to your school’s attorney and the NE Dept of Ed. Remember, both of these programs are federally driven so it takes combined efforts by national education entities to keep track, communicate to and from, and lobby. And a final note, be careful with state and federal grant reporting for all the obvious reasons.

Also note the following update from the newly organized rural effort within the US Department of Education. This may occur monthly and provide timely “heads up” notifications and information. With a focus on serving rural school districts and their community areas, this answers a major concern that any rural focus or transparency was lacking. We will be watching this effort closely, so please provide me any feedback you have.

Take care! Jon

Legislative Corps August 4, 2023

Rural Education Updates from the U.S. Dept of Education, July 2023

Nrcsa

Jack Moles, Executive Director (402) 335-7732 jmoles@nrcsa.net

Jeff Bundy, Administrative Aide (402) 202-6028 jbundy@nrcsa.net

Legislative Contacts

U.S. Senators

Deb Fischer

Pete Ricketts

U.S. House of Representatives

Don Bacon

Mike Flood

Adrian Smith

Nebraska Governor

Jim Pillen

NE State Senators

Raymond Aguilar, Dist 35

Joni Albrecht, Dist 17

John Arch, Dist 14

Christy Armendariz, Dist 18

Beau Ballard, Dist 21

Carol Blood, Dist 3

Carolyn Bosn, Dist 25

Eliot Bostar, Dist 29

Bruce Bostelman, Dist 23

Tom Brandt, Dist 32

Tom Brewer, Dist 43

Tom Briese, Dist 41

John Cavanaugh, Dist 9