Executive Viewpoint

Legendary Leadership

Dr. Mike Hernandez, AAEA Executive Director

Losing colleagues is always a hard thing to deal with in life. We have lost two great educators recently. One I knew very well, and the other was mainly known to me as a legend in the education business. Henry Anderson Jr. was a good friend of mine and a young leader in our state. I had the opportunity to work closely with Henry when he was chosen to lead the Marvel-Elaine School District. The district had recently struggled with finances and changes in leadership. I must admit, I was a little nervous about a brand-new superintendent walking into this type of situation without some significant support to guide him. I was quickly comforted by Henry’s positive attitude and quick recognition that he needed help. Henry was constantly building his network of people that could support him to improve the environment academically and fiscally for students. He was not afraid to ask questions and do whatever it took because he knew he was put there to serve the kids. He is gone too soon, just as he began his superintendent career. I will undoubtedly miss visiting with him about the great things going on in his district.

The second educator we lost was Dr. Kellar Noggle. I feel inadequate to write anything about this man because it will not do him justice. I got into administration after he retired, so I never got to see him in action. However, I did hear many stories about his work for the students of Arkansas. When I first became executive director, I called Dr. Noggle to introduce myself and talk about the current events in education and the association. We were planning to meet face-to-face after Covid-19 settled down. Unfortunately, I did not get that opportunity. Dr. Noggle began the AAEA in 1976 as the first executive director. Over time, he built the organization member by member and service by service. His primary focus was to grow and support administrators to serve students at a high level. I did get the opportunity to attend his funeral service last week. The stories shared by his former pastors, son, and Dr. Jim Rollins made me appreciate Dr. Noggle even more. There were so many people in attendance that he mentored during his career. He loved the work we do daily as administrators to improve educational outcomes and was never ashamed to advocate for whatever was needed by districts. Dr. Noggle retired from AAEA in 2005, and our current office building is named after him.

One of Dr. Noggle’s former pastors used 2 Timothy 2:15 in describing the life of Dr. Noggle. The pastor said Dr. Noggle was always striving to please God through his work in the school business and as a Sunday school teacher. The speakers said they always had to listen to Dr. Noggle intently because they knew he would ask them questions, and intelligent responses were expected. This mini-sermon stuck out to me because it made me reflect on current perceptions of the state of education. There are several challenges that we face as we work to educate kids. If you take a brief review of social media or news programs, you may get the impression that education is headed in the wrong direction. There are numerous negative stories about vaccines, masks, fights, illegal staff behaviors, shootings, divisive curriculum, poor academic performance, etc. In 2 Timothy 2:15, Paul urged Timothy to view himself as a worker seeking to please God. Not as serving to please other people. Paul knew well the many ways the world can distract a Christian’s focus. As administrators, our only purpose is that students receive an education to help lead to a fulfilling life. Understandably, you are tired of all the noise and detractors, both local and afar. People like Mr. Anderson and Dr. Noggle have shown us we must be bold leaders with our time in these roles. We must measure our time in days. What will we do today to serve students better? Many things will distract and pull our focus and time away from our goals. We should be proud of the institution of public education, and we must be unapologetically focused on serving the kids that walk through our doors.

I am so proud to serve you all in this role, and I appreciate what you do for the students of this state. Best wishes for a very Merry Christmas to you and yours!