ChurchillCSD Special Board Meeting

001I'd like to call this meeting to order. All trustees are present. Karina, has the agenda been posted according to Nevada open meeting law? >> Yes, sir, it has. >> Thank you very much. Pledge of allegiance. Mr. Lewis, would you mind starting us since you've been watching so many meetings lately? Thank you. >> Okay. Number five, public comment. Members of the public who speak are asked to state their name for the record and will be limited to a uniform number of minutes. Board members may respond briefly to public comments but cannot deliberate on matters that are not listed on the agenda. For matters on the agenda, the board will conduct public comment after discussion of each agenda action item but before the board takes action. Summary of public comments will be noted in the minutes. Any

002public comment? >> Okay, seeing none, we will move on to review and adoption of agenda. Move to approve the agenda as posted. >> Okay. I have a first by trusty McFadna. I have a second by trustee GCH. Any public comment on the posting of the agenda? You now call for a vote. All in favor? It is unanimous. Moving on to new business. Number seven. This is the moment we all been waiting for. The tr board of trustees will interview the following candidates for superintendent position. Presenters Keith Lewis, Dr. David Jensen and Todd Hess. You want to give one of you guys want to give just a little spill on how we're going to go about this? >> Sure. So, we as you have on your schedule today, we have four interviews. Um, we'll take a

00310-minute break between interviews and then just a reminder to the board to limit conversations during those breaks throughout the day. uh following the fourth interview then we will um ask the candidate or ask you as the board to rank uh your candidates in order from uh one to four one being your highest uh for being uh your last selection and Mr. Jensen will walk you through that process uh as we go into board deliberation. So, um, we're pleased to welcome Levi Collins, uh, today for your, uh, first interview and we appreciate his time and joining us from, uh, Cascade, Montana. And I will turn it back to you to Thank you very much, everybody. Good to get started. Okay, Levi, welcome. I hope you had a chance to visit one of our food establishments, one

004of our fine ones, and had a good night. Anyway, good afternoon. Welcome. We appreciate your interest in serving as the next superintendent of Churchill County School District. And on the behalf of the board of trustees, I thank you for taking the time with us today. Final interview is scheduled for one hour. To honor your time and ensure each board member has the opportunity to ask their questions, we will proceed in an organized sequence beginning with Trusty Bullock and continuing around the board. Interview will be will be timed and we will provide reminders of the time remaining as needed to ensure all questions are addressed. Have any questions on that? >> I do not. Thank you. >> Welcome. What is it about Churchill County School District and the Fallon community that compels you to seek this

005role? And how do your prior experience in rural or small district settings prepare you to lead effectively here over the long term? >> Thank you. Um what compels me is that um I've actually been in my mind um my my thought process is is I've always been in education. I've dedicated my entire life to education and I'd call myself a lifelong learner. That's something that I've always wanted to do and I've I've learned over the course of my life that I'm always consistently trying to learn and better myself and improve myself. And I also think that that's something that we should always have our students achieve for. Um one of the things and and it's kind of been my passion is especially in small districts. I grew up in a small rural district in Wyoming.

006Um I also have spent the majority of my educational career in small rural districts. When I kind of look at it, when I got into education, um one of the reasons I got into education was because that I I basically thought I I had a couple of teachers who I didn't think were in high school were very effective. And and at the time, you know, I I remember one instance when, you know, we had our history teacher pop in. He said, "We're going to learn about the the Russian dynasties." And he popped in the Disney film Anastasia. um you know and then he said later on we're going to learn about China and then he popped in the Disney film Mulan and when I was a high school student I thought oh that's kind of

007cool you know this was neat um but as soon as I got into college I realized that what a disservice this person had done to not only myself but also my peers and I thought I can do better than that and I know I can do better than that and not only that our kids deserve better than that um I think kind of like you guys have seen in your mission on there you want life ready learners and um everybody that's basically with your mission everybody that's always learning and wanting to learn and that was kind of what really spurned that into there is to say yes, I agree and I think everybody should learn and be wanting to learn. And so I dedicated myself when I went to college to um to being in

008education. And when I got my first uh teaching job in Colorado, I was teaching in science. Spent a couple years in Colorado teaching science. And then um during that time, I was also kind of dating um the woman who's now my wife. And we decided to move um to Ogden, Utah was where we got a job during that time. Ogden, Utah is a little bit of a larger district. Um, especially compared to some of the rural ones we're used to. Um, and during that time when I was there, I got a very valuable education. Um, I taught about five years in the science there and then I became the activities director and then also during that time I became the assistant principal um towards the end of it there. Um, so I was a science

009teacher, activities director, and assistant principal during during those years. And I was also in their aspiring leadership um, academy as we as they were trying to build up new leaders to go into that area. Um, didn't necessarily have anything against Ogden. We liked the area. However, we wanted to go back to a more rural area because both my wife and I came from rural school districts in Wyoming. And so we accepted a principal position back into a rural district in Wyoming. Um, I stayed there during a five-year period. um during that time um really enjoyed my services but I also had a great superintendent mentor and one of the things he noticed he said hey he said you know what is your career trajectory what do you want to do and I said I think

010I can have an even bigger impact on more students I said that's always been my goal is to have the biggest impact because I want to make sure that all students have the best learning access possible and that every student can have the the same opportunity to succeed and he said you know what I think you have the skill set and I agree with you and so he kind of took me under his wing and he said my goal is is by the time that you're done here is thank you as superintendent as well too. And so, you know, during that time while I was the principal, I had a lot of real central office experience just because he brought me under his wing and said, you know, that's my goal is to help you

011out there. And so, after spending about 5 years in rural Wyoming, um I applied to a superintendent position in in Montana. And so, that's where I've also been now for the past four years is in the rural rural school district in Montana. Um, and during that time, I feel like we've made a lot of excellent progress as well, too. We had a lot of spectacular things going on there. Um and and when it comes down to it in the end, I really love rural districts and I want to continue to improve there. Um some of the main motivations for kind of seeking this area in Fallon is because we do want a slightly bigger district. The district where I'm at is a little bit smaller than it is here. We want to give our kids

012a little bit more opportunity even though we still want to stay rural. And so, you know, when we were looking at it and looking at possibilities of what we wanted to do and where we wanted to go, this seemed like a natural place and it seemed like the type of community that my wife and I want to raise our kids in and and and continue with our family. And so, um, and so my prior experiences basically are the maj um most of my education and most of my educational expertise is in small districts and and that's really where my heart is and it's where my family and I want to be. So I um that that's the majority of the reasons why we're seeking this type of a position. >> Great. Question two. The role

013of superintendent is demanding especially in a small community where you are always on. How would you describe your leadership style including your strengths and growth areas? And what personal strategies do you use to remain reflective, resilient, and open to feedback while modeling balance for your team? >> Uh yes, I definitely agree that the role of the superintendent is very demanding. And I know, you know, from personal experience that, you know, people want you to stay visible and people want you to make sure that you're constantly, you know, necessarily a hands-on superintendent. And so it's not enough to just kind of sit back and let people come to you. It has to be something that you go out and you work towards building relationships with people. That includes building relationships with the administration team. That includes

014building relationships with with the teaching team, obviously the students, and obviously the community members. Um, it's a constant and effort to make sure that you're communicating. And so, I guess my leadership style that I'd say that I have is a very hands-on leadership style. I try to make sure that I lead by experience. I let everybody know that, hey, I've done the majority of the roles in a school district as well, too. I drove bus when I was in uh college and that was how I kind of earned my education was as a bus driver. Um I've also worked in the maintenance department as well in school districts. Um I was a special education director as well when I was the principal um in Wyoming as well. They made me the special education director. And

015so I've got a very wide variety and array of educational administrative experiences that that make me know and understand exactly what position has and what kind of things people look for. I understand and I always constantly um reflect and think what did I feel when I was in this position when I was in the similar position that everybody was here and what did I want and I try to make sure that I um that I connect with those people let them know that I am listening to them and I'm understanding them. Um, part of effective communication is making sure that you do actually listen to people. And not only that, that they know that you listen to them. And even though you don't always get to make the decisions that they want you to make,

016at least they know that you listened and that you care and that you thought about it and considered what they were talking about. And once you do those things, it helps them to understand and make a better connection with you and the district in general. Um, so as far as my strengths are concerned, I feel like I have a very good strength in developing leadership. Um, I I want to kind of go back to where I talked about that I had a great mentor superintendent and one of the things that he was very strong at was developing personnel. Um, I feel like he really showed me what it took to develop strong characteristics and personnel and kind of as I said that includes being an active listener and making sure that you're hearing what people

017are actually saying. Um, so with that in mind, I feel like I have a very unique ability to help build and and build up capacity and leadership capacity. um that includes down at the lowest, you know, um down at the down at any basic level in the educational system. And I can help those people say, you know what, you're doing a great job where you're at right now. How do we get even more? And that's always what I want to try to get is is to make sure that people can do jobs and be very very diverse in every job that they're doing. The greater leadership capacity that we have in the building, it's only going to benefit our students. Um if you look at statistics and you look at the data and the research,

018basically all of our students um have the biggest impact from our teachers. And so the biggest goal that I always say is how do we make our teachers be as great of leaders as they can and how do we develop our teachers to have the greatest capacity as that they possibly can. And so since the teachers have that greatest role, that needs to be where the most of our focus is, is how do we increase that capacity to making our teachers the best teachers they can be. And in order to have great teachers, you also need to have a great leadership team that supports those teachers. That includes through professional development and that also includes through just making sure that your leaders are able to support those teachers. That also brings in recruitment and retention.

019Um and and when you and when you have those good capacity administrators, it also allows your teachers to to start flourishing in their own role as well too. And so some of those strengths include basically building up capacity and building up the leadership capacity. Um, as far as the growth areas, um, I still feel like I'm a very effective communicator. Um, but at the same time, it always seems like like any district I look at across the United States, it does seem like people always say we want a little bit more communication. And so that's an area that I'm constantly working on is to say, how do we make sure that we are effectively communicating? Um, even though I feel like I do a good job at that, it's still something that needs constant growth

020because it feels like you can put you can put information out through a variety of means, whether it be talk, text, newspapers, um, emails. There's so many different ways to communicate nowadays, but people still say the same thing. Sometimes I don't feel like I'm getting all the information that I need. And so I always try to make sure that communication, even though I feel like it's a strong area, it needs constant growth just because that's an area that most school districts struggle with. Um, so as far as the s the strategies that I use to remain reflective and and resilient and open to feedback is making sure that I remain humble. One of the things that I tell all my leaders when I'm working with them, one of the things that I tell everybody at

021all when I'm working with them is I am open to feedback and I want to prove that to you. So I constantly ask for feedback and say um and I make the extra effort. Sometimes it's easier just to go ahead and make a decision on your own and say this is what we're going to do and we're going to move forward with it. it takes a lot more energy and effort to involve people in that process and use a collaborative decision-making process. And so I always try to make sure that I challenge everybody that I'm working with and say, "Hey, are we doing the right thing? Are we feeling like we're making the right decisions? Let's go ahead and try to pull holes in this." I don't know if you guys have ever heard of

022a red team, blue team type situation, but it's basically where you try to look at every single angle possible of the situation, good or bad. Let's go ahead and try to pull holes in it. Let's play the devil's advocate. Let's look at worst case scenario. And once you start to do that, you start to try to get, you know, instead of just looking at a problem from one angle, that means you try to look at it from every single angle possible. I challenge my administrators to, you know, and I actually kind of ask them sometimes too, do you think that we're proceeding forth in the right steps? What would you do if you're in my situation? And I honestly let them know and I can tell them through through our relationship that I build with

023them that I will listen and I will trust the feedback that they give to me. That doesn't mean that we always follow that feedback, but I always tell them the same thing as well too when we have our leadership meetings. Guys, the best idea wins. I'm fully believing in that. And it doesn't mean that every idea has to come from me. In fact, I don't think they should. We're building an effective leadership capacity team. That means that great ideas can come from anywhere. And we celebrate those ideas when they happen and we and we make sure that everybody knows that they're a part of that decision-making process and team with that. So that's how I try to remain reflective and resilient is by being very open and honest to feedback. Um I also try to

024make sure to teach people to do it in a constructive mannerism as opposed to a destructive mannerism because we all know sometimes that feedback can can hurt feelings and it can also cause resentment in some senses. But as long as we remain open and honest with our feedback and and we're willing to accept that we can always do better, it it just creates a situation and environment where instead of people fearing and having a fear of talking and speaking, they now suddenly say, "You know what? If I have a good idea, I'm willing to share that good idea because I know it's a possibility that it might be something we proceed forth with. >> A successful superintendent is one who is visible, approachable, and present in schools and the community. In your first six to

02512 months, what specific actions will you take to become a trusted visit visible ambassador for the district with staff, families, students, the tribe, Fallon, NAS partners, and local governments. >> Uh, this is a great question and I think, and I completely agree, being visible and being hands-on is very, very important to this process. Um, as I say, I think I I kind of mentioned this yesterday to some of the different groups that I was talking with. There is enough work where somebody could sit in their office and honestly, there is enough work where that's all you could do and you could still fill your schedule with doing that much work. However, there is a very very important human aspect to it that you need to get out and meet people and talk to people. So

026my goal would be is to make sure that I conduct a listening tour to her over the first over the first 90 days or the first 6 months that I'd be here and make sure that I tried to get to know every single employee. One of the strengths that I feel like I have right now in my district um you know I can't say that I know every detail about all my employees lives. However, I can honestly say that I know the name of every single school district employee that we have right now. And not only do I know every one of their names, um I know, you know, most of their family situations and I know a good deal about them. And the reason I do that and I make that is because I

027make an effort. I actually plan into my schedule times to go and visit different people and make sure that I'm talking to different groups of people. Um, yes, it takes time, but I've always found out that that's worth it because one of the things that I start noticing is is when you develop that time and you start developing those relationships, people are more willing to talk to you. Suddenly, you are starting to hear the real issues that come about because people have faith that you're willing to talk to them. they're not afraid to approach you and it makes you be more approachable when you're visible and walking around there. So, one of the first things that I do is try to make sure that I get out and start learning the names of everybody in

028the school district so that I could I could actually develop that good strong relationship with them and get the ability for them to say, "Yes, we enjoy it. We know who that person is." Um, you know, once again, I'm not I'm being a realist. I know that that not everybody's going to agree with every single decision that comes about, but at the same time, if they feel like they have the ability to bring problems to you and that you're approachable, it allows people to have a little bit more comfort in that situation. And so, one of the things that I do right now and a specific action that I do is I plan on a weekly basis. Um, I I make sure that I visit every one of those that I directly supervise at least

029on a weekly basis. And not only do I just visit them, I have targeted questions that I research beforehand and ask them to make sure that I'm look learning a little bit more about what they're talking about within their necessary field. Um, I look at specific data. I look at things that we've been talking about and reviewing in the past and I make sure to go up and ask them those questions as well as getting to know them on a personal level as well. Um, yes, it takes time once again, but at the same time, I found that that's well vested when it comes down into it. And then not only do I do that with just the leaders, I make time to go out and I visit everybody as well in the district. Um

030I try to make sure that I always follow the chain of command and I make sure that people know we have these very specific policies in place for a very good reason. However, I want to make sure that every single employee knows that I'm thinking about them and that I am taking a my personal time to go out and talk to them and and work with them and understand them and know them. And so with that in mind, I guess um planning planning specific time weekly into the schedule to go out and visit people and ask them targeted questions so that you understand what's going on in the district and that well aware of what's going on. Um as far as you know being a visible ambassador to the district with families and staff and

031students as well. The same thing goes on with the students. Um I can't say that I know a 100% of the names of the students but I probably know 80 plus% of the names of the students as well too when I've developed a type of a relationship with them. Um, we're all here obviously for the benefit of the students. The students are a an an a very very important commodity in the district. They're the most important thing that we're trying to do here. That's the reason we're all here. So, getting to know those students and understanding their wants and needs as well too. I try to make sure that I have in our we call them a cabinet meeting, but when I have leadership teams, I even bring in our student leadership in there as

032well, so that they have the option to have the voice and that they have an option to say this is what we want as students. We've made a very concerted effort as well to start inviting specific student groups into our board meetings so that our students have a say and that they feel like they're having confidence. Um this was kind of a neat situation. Um but we had students who wanted a very um we we had a program where students were were were wanting to petition to get a little bit more money and get a little bit more activity among one of their student groups. Um, I sat down and I coached the specific student group of how I think they should present information to the board, how I think they should follow parliamentary procedure.

033Um, and and and the students did an amazing job and it was one of the neatest experiences that we had at one of our board meetings. Um, and and I love the idea that I was able to help coach those students to be successful and get the initiative that they wanted with the board. Um, so so that also goes as well with staff, families, um, and the tribes and the and the partners. One of the things that we need to do as well is make sure that I'm also getting out and visiting our local businesses and developing relationships with our local leaders at the state level. Um, one of the things that I found was very important and I learned this as well when I was a principal for my mentor superintendent. we had a

034rather older school in Wyoming um for for some of the standards and the facilities in Wyoming and and it wasn't gaining much interest and it was getting older and older and older and even though the facility was in good maintenance um because we kept good track of the school and it was in good running condition it was older and it did appear older even though it was running well. Um, I I with my superintendent, we started conducting tours with our local state senators, our local house representatives, and we several times went to the went to the capital in the state of Wyoming, and we talked about the condition of the school, and we talked about how maybe some of the formulas weren't built for school districts that were a little bit smaller. And over the

035course of about a year and a half, we were successfully able to get legislators and senators and house representatives that came and did a tour of our school. And once they saw the state of the school, they said, "You know what? even though you guys have taken great care of the school, we agreed this doesn't meet the standards of what we want for the state. They went through and they made an exception in order in order to uh an exception to the formula that they created at the state level in order to fund new school for our district. And so I know what it means to go out and lobby with local leaders also at the local level and at the state level and in order to help get new facilities and help get new

036improvements at the state level. um and and developing and reaching out to those leaders is very important in getting additional funding for our school district. Um as far as families are concerned, families are the lifeblood of the school district. They pay taxes, they pay local taxes. They're very important and they need to have a say in what's going on at the district. If we want our district to be successful, the best way to get that is to get our families back into our district and making sure that they are very active in there. Once the families are very active in the school district, um it just increases overall morale, everybody's invested, they donate more money, they not only donate more money, but they're actively engaged in their students life. And when they're actively engaged in

037students life, oh, go figure. The student achievement starts ticking up. Attendance starts trick trickling up. Everything happens once we get families involved. And when families feel like they have a vested interest in the school district, um it just increases overall numbers for all the districts. So, so really focusing on communications and making sure that we're talking to all these different groups is a very important piece. Um, right now where I'm at in Montana, we have several tribes as well too. I know what it takes to talk to the tribes. We have a um I'm not exactly sure how what the strength is of some of the reservational tribes here in this area. Um, but in Montana, they have a very very strong representation both at the local level and at the state level. I've worked

038very well with tribes. We have a very um we actually go forth and spend a lot of money and try to bring in different organizations and tribes and culture into the school every year to make sure that they have a strong say in what's going on. Um so overall, I guess my goal is to make sure that we say yes, let's have strong business partnerships. The business partnerships also feed into the CTE. They also feed into into future growth of our students and and it just makes a stronger community when we have everybody involved in the district with a strong communication plan. Just uh just to keep you on pace, I just we are at uh 39 minutes left and we have 10 questions. So want to keep you on pace. >> Staff recruitment and

039retention emerged as one of the highest priorities for the next superintendent. Describe your philosophy and concrete strategies for improving retention, morale, and positive working environment, especially in a small rural labor market where neighboring districts may offer competing compensation. >> Um, I've done a lot of research on this topic because we have the same issue where I'm at right now where we have some retention. And I mean, be honest, this is a nationwide issue, not just, you know, not just singular to the state of of Nevada. So, one of the things if you look at the research and and I this is going to come as no surprise. Number one is always compensation and money. Um, but I think we know as well too that that's not always the the easiest solution to get with as

040well. So, I'm not going to spend too much time on that other than saying I will work my hardest to legislate or to to lobby on the legislative level because I already know that's the number one thing that always comes up in the research on there. So where I would like to focus also efforts is is on what they call the second step and and it's professional development and basically what they talk about in there is if you have good strong professional development um you will basically people know what they want and you have to invest into helping people achieve what they want. So that involves listening to your teachers and saying what do you want and what do you need to be more successful and if we help them develop themselves they will have

041a more likely they will have a more likely desire to retain themselves and to stay here. Now number three that goes into this and I think it's really closely tied to number two is you have to have good administrators. If you think back on your work and and kind of think of the jobs that you've liked and the jobs that you've disliked, usually it comes down to did I like my supervisor or not? Or it comes down to did I like those that I worked with or not. Um, and if you can say that you like that, you probably were okay with making a little bit less money if you had a good time working where you were working. That's kind of the same idea in this type of a situation. If you have a

042very strong effective administrative leadership team, you will naturally retain more people as well too because people are going to enjoy where they're working and they're going to have a high level of satisfaction within that environment. And so focusing efforts on professional development and strong leadership that is supportive of the teachers is paramount in getting the results of retention of teachers. Now also what links on to the recruitment as well on this one is once you have strong retention all of a sudden you start getting word of mouth and this is also very well researchbased. If teachers and other staff members start saying you know what the pay isn't quite what I like however I really enjoy where I'm working all of a sudden your recruitment starts going up as well too. So the key is

043is making sure that you are retaining people and that you're retaining happy people. And part of this process and this was this was number four on the list um of creating and making sure that people are happy was celebrating them and making sure that they feel valued. And so that's also one of the keys as well too. Um if you look at it nationwide, I kind of feel like a lot of teachers in education right now feel like they have the walls closing in on them and they don't feel like they're well respected overall. that causes a high level of dissatisfaction and I think it's also causing one of the factors that causes some of the teachers to leave the education field and educators in general anybody in our system to kind of leave and

044go out. So the factor that we have to focus on is let's let them know that we value them and that they are highly that they are highly valued for the work that they produce into our kids. Um and when we do that it increases the retention and then naturally after you have that strong retention your your recruitment will start going up as well. All right, thank you. Um, question five is academic achievement, especially in ELA and math, is an area of focus for the district. walk us through how you would diagnose our current performance, set a limited number of clear instructional priorities, and organize principles, teacher leaders, and central office staff to deliver measurable gains over the next three years. >> I'm just making sure I I'm reading this one right. I had a

045different one on this other form. So, >> okay. Okay. Um, when I was looking at some of the strategic goals that you guys had on the list, I noticed that what you know, one of your some of your strategic goals really focused around um, math and and reading and and I really agree that reading is one of the most important pieces that we can have and ELA is an essential piece on there. Math and ELA both are essential pieces in having high student achievement and also having a high satisfaction rate among our, you know, leading to a higher graduation rate. I don't think it's any surprise. You guys have probably all heard the studies that if students are reading on a on average a third grade level by the time they hit third grade, it

046naturally just will increase your graduation rate and you'll get almost you'll you'll by nature get a much higher graduation rate if students are are reading on a third grade level by third grade. And so my main focus I would say probably on here is to um set a precedent for every single teacher focusing on some type of a reading aspect. Um, we tried this in one of my other districts where we had a we had a lower reading achievement level than what we were satisfied with. Um, and so we thought, well, we're going to get together and let's sit down and solve this problem. How do we solve this problem of this lower than we want reading achievement level? And so what we did was we literally said, every single teacher is going to focus

047a certain amount of the time during their week into targeted reading interventions. And all of a sudden over the course of about a year and a half, two years about um when every single teacher was blatantly focusing on some of those reading achievements, we did notice and we saw a huge gain in our student achievement. All of a sudden, our students started getting the idea, "Wow, our teachers are really focusing on reading." You started hearing these conversations among the teachers. The teachers would come and they'd report, "Hey, guess what? Our kids are now starting to talk about reading. Why are we reading in every single class?" even they just sit there and they'd say even in PE we're doing some reading even when we go into math we're doing some reading and all of a

048sudden once our students started talking about it they started realizing they really think that reading is important for us once they recognize that it started upticking and so as far as what I would do to say focus on that I mean just make sure that you make it blatantly obvious to everybody involved that we are focusing on reading and math and make sure that everybody gets that message don't just say it actually show it and prove it in your thoughts, your actions, and your everyday words. Once you start doing that, kids are smart. They start to pick up on these things. Once they notice that as well, they say, "hm, maybe I do need to make a more concerted effort." I think we've also noticed as well, too, when you hold kids up to those

049expectations, somehow they usually seem to meet those expectations. And so, when the students notice that we're starting to focus on those, when the teachers notice it, when the administrative staff notices it, you will start seeing gains in those levels. And so, um, as far as I'm just making sure I'm hitting all the parts of this question. Um, I I think the main thing is is just making sure that when you have these central office meetings, sit down with the central office, talk about this, create a clear concrete initiative. Make sure that you don't overinitiate so that people can know that, hey, they're saying that we are doing this one main initiative and this is going to be our main focus. And and so once they realize that and understand that and they make that their

050main focus, you'll notice as well too that the teachers will start noticing that in the teacher leadership, we're all giving the clear consistent message from every single leader or from every single level and all of a sudden you'll notice that every single level will start talking about it, working with it, and you'll start seeing clear results from it. Um reason I bring that up is just because I have seen it work in the past at different different schools that I've been in. And so, um, you know, I guess I can't necessarily say I guarantee it would work here, but based on my previous experience and based on my previous research, I've personally seen it work in school districts where we have made a concerted effort to achieve those. And so, I think just making sure

051that you show not just on paper that this is our priority. You need to make sure that you're connecting with it on a very consistent basis. So, that goes into also um when you do spot check, remember I was talking about being visible and talking about people. When I go through and I talk to the principles or the teachers, some of my targeted questions wouldn't just be, "Hey, how are you doing? How are your days going?" It might be, "How are you do? How are your reading interventions going in the class? What's going on with them? And what would you say? Are you seeing gains? What areas do you think need improvement? Is there anything that we can change in the current model that we're doing right now that you think would lead to more

052improvement? Would you recommend any changes beyond what we're doing right now?" Start asking those questions. Find out if it's working. Do the same thing with the students. When I go around and talk with the students, hey, have you guys noticed that we're that we're focusing on a little bit more on reading and math? Have you guys noticed your teachers focusing on that? I would hope the question would be yes. Do you feel like it's working? Is there anything you think would change and make it even better for you? So, once you start getting that and everybody starts seeing that you're that is your main focus, people will start rising up to that expectation and meeting those expectations. Education evolves continually and effective leaders find innovative solutions to present persistent challenges. Describe a specific example where

053you championed academic innovation such as competency based learning, a new instructional model, or a creative approach to improve student outcomes. How you built staff and community support for the change and what measurable results you observed. Okay. Um, yeah. So, so one of the things that I always kind of make that I always kind of learned as well too when I was going through my career is is um we learned from a couple different situations that also you need to make sure that you limit the amount of initiatives. You can't come through one year, I guess, and say we're going to try 10 different things this year and hope that one of them fits. The idea is and the way that it was kind of explained to me um and and I mentioned this yesterday in

054some of the things pretend that you have a plate in front of you and it's full and and you need to kind of remember that and think that the plate is really full for our educators whether that be you know basically anybody um anybody in the system the plate is full for them they're non-stop doing stuff all the time and they have a full plate and so the idea is is if you say I have a new initiative you're adding more to their plate that's already full and so one of the ideas that you have to kind of take and wrap your head around is to say we already have people that feeling overwhelmed. We already have people that in aory feel overinitiated. So you also have to be willing to take something off that

055plate if you add something new on. Um that's okay as long as you make sure to say I want to remove the lowest priority things. So I challenge people to say what can we remove to alleviate some stress because we're going to add something new in. And um one specific example that I will add, you know, is is I already talked a little bit about the reading. Um we did it a little bit with our math initiatives. And so we said, well, how I I'll use a different one. Um, we had a little bit lower um I think you guys do SAT here. We did ACT when I was not when I was in Wyoming. We had a little bit lower ACT results than what I wanted at the time. And so our specific initiative

056was was to focus on our ACT. And it was kind of the same thing that I kind of mentioned in my last question. We didn't just sit down and say, "Let's go ahead and talk about ACT a little bit more and tell the students we want to do a little bit more about it." We planned in very specific time on a weekly basis. We planned in 30 minutes a week to specifically work on increasing competency in the ACT at the high school level. And so we started not when they were just juniors taking the ACT or the SAT. We made sure that we started when they were freshman and we said, "Hey guys, guess what? This test is very, very important to us. This helps us know where we're at as a school district. This

057helps inform the teaching for future years in the district." And we we didn't just do it with the teachers only. We sat down and we we actually met with every single student. We brought all the students in and we said, "We're going to do this initiative because we think that this is very important to our school district and it's not only very important to your guys' future, we also kind of hit on some of their heartstrings and we said most of you guys have little brothers or sisters or cousins. This helps us determine how we are going to teach those future generations here at this school." And we heard some of those kids, they started talking and saying, "Oh, well, I never cared to tie on to try on some of these standardized tests or

058some of these ACTs or ACT because it didn't impact me personally, but you're telling me that what we're learning right now actually might impact my little brother in the future." Yes, that's exactly what we're telling you. And when the students started understanding that, you started seeing a little bit of a change in the students as well too. We noticed that they started trying a little bit harder because they were also in on that initiative. They were also in on how do we get better scores? We also did the kind of the same thing with every single person in the building. We sat down and we said, "We want to talk about this. We want to work on this and we want to make sure that this is a constant reminder for everybody." So, we dedicated

059we set aside a little bit of a time during our day during our advisory period um on on one day of the week and we said this entire advisory period will be to increase ACT scores. And so, we had specific help um where we said this is the type of lesson we want you guys to teach. And not only that, we said, "This is the type of information that we want you guys to gather and transmit down to the students so that they understand this initiative and they know that this is what we want to work on." We we made sure as well to have check-ins, fallback procedures, and so that as we started out the initiative, we knew that we it was a new initiative that we were trying and we said this might

060not be perfect as we first enroll this out. So, we had specific times to come back together and meet to where we could come back and say, "Okay, how is this initiative going? What needs to change? Do we need to have any changes? and if so, what are those changes that we need to make? And so, it was a constantly evolving piece, but it was very targeted, very focused on one thing that everybody in the district understood and that everybody in the district knew that they were working towards this. And when I say everybody, it wasn't just kids, teachers, and and administrative staff. The community was in on it, too. We sent out communications to the community of why we were doing it and the purpose of it. And once we felt like everybody was

061involved in that process and that change, it was something that we worked towards. And go figure, we start to see an incre an increase in improvement. I thought we were going to see a little bit more increase than we got on this one one partic particular situation, but our average over the course of the next um three years in that district, we did increase our state um we increased our numbers. I'm trying to think of a good factor to talk about. I know the numbers are different, but you know, if let's just pretend that we had a um an a well, our ACT was an average of 18 um and then we increased those numbers up to to about 20.5 over the course of three years. And so we did see measurable data improvement in

062that ACT result score over the course of that time. That was very significant for that exam. stakeholders identified special education and MTSS as critical areas of expertise. Share a specific example of how you have led implementation or improvement of MTSS and services for students with disabilities, including the data you tracked, how you supported principles and teachers, and the outcome you achieved. >> Yeah. Um, one of the things I think that benefits me here is I I kind of mentioned it a little bit. When I was the principal, um, of my district in Wyoming, I was also appointed as the special education director. And at that time, um, I didn't have my my undergraduate was not focused on special education. And I wouldn't say that I had the most robust or or greatest knowledge of the

063special education field. Um, I I had my courses from my master's degree where we had special education law and special education theory. Um, but that doesn't necessarily make me an expert, just taking a couple courses in there. And so I was actually really glad to have that opportunity because I had a real crash course in there. I learned what it was to be compliant in special education and how important it was for those factors. I learned what the qualification process was for. I learned how to identify the students in that those situations. And I also learned kind of best methods and remedies to help up to help those students be a little bit higher achieving in that special education system. So, I feel like I have now after serving as the principal and special education

064director for for five years in that district. Um, I feel like I have a much greater knowledge of special education. I still wouldn't say I'm a special education specialist. However, I do have a very good knowledge of that program as well. Um, now one of the things that I was able to do in the district that I'm at currently in as the superintendent, we did not have at all an MTSS system. And I noticed that that, you know, when when I talked about it, I even brought it up for the teachers and I talked about a multi-ter system of support and they kind of got a real blank look on their face and they said, "Well, what's that?" And so we started from scratch a multi-tered system of support and I made sure that we

065got funding um actually applied for some funding through the state through a grant. Um and I noticed that there I started looking up grants because I thought, well, if I don't have any of my staff that even knows what MTSS is, we're going to have to do a lot of training in this subject. And so I focused on looking at the state level. I got some help from our state um leaders at our department of education and I said, you know, we we've got a staff that doesn't really understand or know what MTSS is. Can you guys help us out? And so I got a large grant that helped us fund this. And then we brought in several specialists over the course of the of the first three years that I've been in the district

066and and we had very very targeted um professional development for multi-tered system of supports. And now we've got, you know, I I mean, it still need it still does need to move forward in the process, but we have a fairly robust system of tier one, tier two, and tier three. Um, we still don't have our tier three ironed out yet, as much as I want to. That was kind of in our last stage that we're going through. Um, and so we're still kind of in the process of getting that tier three really ironed out, but we started out with tier one and we have a very, very strong tier one system of support for our students. Um and then also we have a very now strong tier 2 system of support for our students and

067we're in the process of working on our tier three system of support. And so as far as um some examples and implementation I've worked hands-on in educating my entire district on the process of MTSS and also um one of the initiatives that we had when I worked in Ogden and this is where I got the brunt of my education in the in the PBIS the positive behavior pieces. um Ogden was really implementing the PBIS at the time that I was there as well too. And so during that time, I got a really great CAT crash course in my leadership courses of what effective PBIS strategies looked like and and and I learned as well too how important those positive behavior intervention systems are in those types of situations. Um so overall, I have I have

068several several years of experience doing this. some of the data that we tracked as far as it goes in my current district that we're at with the MTSS. Um we now have really clear areas of improvement for each additional student. We have now moved um successfully students that were identified as our tiers 2 students. Um we've moved several members of those into our now tier one experience. And and um just to give you guys some data on there as well once we when I first got into the district and you know I'll I'll be one to admit I I came right right during the um right right during the end you know kind of meddled during the end of the co system and so some of these numbers could have been detrimental due to the

069due to the co um however we have seen increases in both our ELA and our math achievement scores have increased about 10% in the district since I've been there um as well as our absenteeism that was very very low has also increased as a result and I attribute it to the system though and the robust system of our teachers having the knowledge of it and and it created a culture where kids didn't want to be in school to now kids are starting to say hey I want to be back in school and when you have kids that want to be in school and you increase your attendance numbers and you have effective mult um MTSS and PBIS strategies it all lends towards starting to increase your achievement in those areas and increase your attendance rates

070Student safety, behavior, and bullying are top concerns expressed in a recent community survey. Describe your approach to student discipline and school safety, including how you balance clear expectations and consequences with restorative practices and social emotional supports. And how you would engage families when serious in incidents occur. Yeah. Um, this one's one, it's always a tough one. I don't think there's a school in the United States of America that doesn't have some type of bullying issues. Um, and so to sit down and say that, you know, the goal needs to be 100%. I once heard a superintendent when I was in Utah kind of mention that, um, you know, they they they had there was a sign that talked about highway deaths and it basically said zero zero highway deaths is the only acceptable goal. And

071it's the same idea here. Zero bullying is the only acceptable goal. Um, however, we know that that might be a little bit difficult to achieve. And so, part of this is making sure that we have clear communications with everybody involved to say, you know what, we realize this is a problem. And even though we know it's a problem and it's a problem that's not easy to solve and there might always be some level of this somewhere, this is something that we're going to put at the forefront and make sure that everybody knows we're working towards this because we've seen that bullying can have real life consequences and issues towards pe towards our students. And so as a result, the main thing is on this one, make sure everybody knows that we have high levels of

072expectations for it. There are consequences for this that we will follow through with and there will be clear communication with families. Part of this, excuse me, part of this as well too is to make sure that we bring parents in and have communications with the parents. Don't just discipline the student only and say, "Good luck. We'll see you back after your discipline's done." We have to educate our parents as well too to help them understand the importance of this. help parents talk to their students, teach parents how to talk to their students about these types of issues so that we can overcome these types of issues in our schools. It's definitely not an easy an easy thing to overcome. However, I think most of it does come back to very clear communication and making sure

073that we are following up with our consequences that we have and let people know that we will not accept this behavior and that it's something that we're constantly working on to improve in our school district. Financial stability for a district is a clear priority. Please describe your experience with school or district budgeting and long-term capital or facilities planning and explain how you would build a multi-year financial plan that is transparent, student centered, and sustainable in a district our size. Um, luckily for me, I have quite a bit of experience in financial planning. Um, I've got not only a lot of theory from from all of my administrative courses that I've taken. It's a very very um when you go through basically the programs, um, I'm I'm going through a doctorate program right now. It's a

074very very um, it's a topic that's hit on frequently in all the courses. And so I've got a very good theory behind this, but then I've also got, you know, I I told you guys as well that my my superintendent brought me in even as a principal. So I've got nine plus years of experience in financial planning for systems. Um I mentioned to you guys that we had a long range facilities at every single school that I've been at. We've had long range facilities plans. Um we had five-year plans when I was the principal that I helped develop in line with our superintendent. We also budgeted and planned for a new brand new school that we created um and that we built. And then also at my at my district that I'm at right now.

075Um helping them understand the need. We didn't have any financial plans when we got there. And helping them start creating a five-year plan so that they knew what was going on and that we had a 5-year plan built out for our facilities, what needs to be repaired, what's on schedule to be repaired, and so that we could be honest stewards of our financial budget. Um fiscally, I'm very conservative when it comes down to it. I try to make sure that we always have a rainy day fund. Um, just as an example, um, we built up, um, a rainy day fund of about a million dollars in the district I'm currently at. And I feel like it's a very good thing we did because we had an unexpected windfall. We had our boiler control systems that

076were slated to last for about another 15 years according to our financial plan. Um, and suddenly they just went out and go figure, in one single year we had a $450,000 expense that we didn't expect. Um, so planning for inevitable inevitable issues that might occur even though you don't know what's going to happen and making sure that you have a real robust plan looking at least 5 years into the future is essential to make sure that districts remain financially sound. Constantly going back and reviewing the budget, having clear open conversations with the business management team and making sure that we are on track and spending money where we say it's going to be spent is an essential piece of this. And so, um, so facilities planning, you know, just making one one of the ways

077it's helped out as well too, I've worked with several engineering firms to help out. Um, I I would probably recommend this as well because I feel like it's paid dividends to the district. Um, basically having having some groups come in and and for a for a specific cost. You know, they can say, "This is the project out of all of your facilities that we look at over the course of a 30-year period." And essentially, they give a 30-year plan of of how long they think things are going to be um um when when things might need to be repaired or replaced. And so, I would recommend as well something of that nature because it gives you the option to say this is how we want our systems replaced over the course of a 30-year plan

078as well, too. And so, doing all that together does help um when it comes to um being fiscally responsible and making sure that you have a budget that's not that's going to keep the district in a in a well place as far as the budget's concerned. Um, and obviously when it comes down to it, the main thing is is yes, we need to make sure that our budgets in place for the facilities. When we have good, strong facilities, that does go back to say good now that we are sound financially, how can we make and invest all the rest of the money that we possibly can in our students because obviously they're the results that we want to increase more than anything else. Our students are our bottom line when it comes down to it.

079And anything that we can do to help our students achieve, great. And let's hope that we do that by managing our business well very well elsewhere. 10. Successful superintendents in Nevada must clarify roles and work effectively within a balanced governance model. How do you define the proper roles of the board and the superintendent? And what are two or three concrete practices you use to keep the board well informed, avoid surprises, and ensure that policy oversight and operations remain appropriately aligned? Um, having effective board and superintendent relationships is essential. Um, you know, there's been tons of research done on that as well. And I don't think that goes as any surprise to anybody. Um, one of the ideas and and I kind of always try to resonate with this is, you know, pretend that the pretend

080that the um that the district is is a ship. The board is, you know, and and basically they say the board owns the ship and the board determines the port of which it's going and it's the superintendent's job to basically be the captain and determine how it helps to get there. Um, I try to espouse that in what I do. I try to make sure that we maintain clear governance models in between us. And one of the things that I try to do is and make sure that I do this. And if you ask my board members, um, some of the things that I of my relationships with them, I keep the board well informed about what's going on in the school district, if I think the board's going to have anything that they might

081hear or anything that happens on that they're going to need be informed about, I make sure that my board members know about it hopefully beforehand if I can. If I have knowledge about it, I'll make sure the board knows about it before. I try to make sure the board stays well informed on hot topics, anything that might be coming up so that we can maintain that good governance model. Um, I don't want you guys to be surprised and I make sure that I do the same thing with my staff as well. And I say the same thing to them. If you think something's going to come to me or somebody's going to call me about a specific issue, I hope that you inform me previously if you possible. So, I extend that same courtesy to

082the board. Um, also one of the things that I want to make sure that I try to do, I am as transparent as I possibly can be. Um, even when it's not even when it's not good or necessarily, you know, something that's not favorable. Um, I always kind of have this theory in my mind, um, if you hide things, you know, typically typically things that are unfavorable, um, I always kind of think in my mind, you know, maybe this isn't the best example, but I think in my mind they smell and eventually that smell is going to get out and somebody's going to smell it. and it doesn't smell good when that happens. And so my idea behind this is is yes, not everything that we do is always the best news or the information.

083However, how do we solve that information if we're not being clear, open, and transparent about that. So my goal is to make sure is that the board knows the the trials, the hardships that are going on and then also that we have a plan to try and fix it and to bring that board in as well to say, do you guys have any recommendations or suggestions on moving forward with this? And so um so as far as that's concerned you know just make sure that you know yes sometimes I have been known to sit down and say I want the board to be as involved and possible and I honestly do. The board has a very very integral part of this but it's sometimes too you know there needs to be a reminder on both

084ends. Is this really the board's place to talk about this issue and it goes back to the other end you know is this really the superintendent's job? So making sure that we have that same model that I say I tried to have with my administration. I want to have clear open honest feedback on both ends. We need to kind of get that idea in mind that we're here together working together for the same goal. And as long as we maintain that mutual respect of saying that we're all here working together for the same goal, even though we might have slight disagreements, at least we all know that, hey, even though we don't agree on the way to get there, sometimes we at least know that our our main goal is the same and we're all

085trying to get there together. And so, um, making sure that we have very clear, open, honest communication with one another is essential in my mind. and and everything that I do is centered around trying to be as transparent as possible and making sure that we can have that. >> All right, question 11. Effective superintendent build and guide a strong district leadership team. How do you approach supervising principles and central office administrators to ensure alignment with district goals? clear accountability for results and ongoing professional growth. I >> think I hit this a little bit in my previous question, so I won't go into extreme detail on this one. Um, but I think the main thing is and kind of like we talked about being visible and having constant communication with them. Um, right now what I

086do um I I do have a slightly smaller administrative team where I'm at right now than what would be here, but I meet on a daily basis informally with every one of my administrators. Um, I have right now as well I have a weekly formal meeting where we talk about goals, strategic goals, what we're doing, how we're trying to reach those goals. Check-ins. Why didn't we reach goals? We make sure that we have clear, honest, open conversation. Hey, we had this goal and we didn't seem to meet it. What was going on? Why didn't we meet that goal? What do we need to change and improve in order to meet that goal? Then afterwards as well do the same thing with all my administrators. Um we and I also allow them and tell them to

087say, "Hey guys, um if you feel like you have something you need to talk to me about, even if it's not a formal meeting, I encourage you to call and talk about it." I I do the same thing. We're all on the same team. Our main goal is to be successful. So, let's not try to hide information. Let's be open and honest about it. Let's talk about the problems, the issues that we have, and let's focus on solutions rather than trying to hide information. And so, that's the idea that I want to make sure is develop those types of relationships. I want them to trust me and know that they can come to me with problems and that we're going to work together to try to solve those problems. And so the main thing is

088is being as visible as possible, making sure that you have targeted visitation with each one of those groups, making sure that you allow them to informally approach you, but also that you're having consistent formal meetings where you do formal check-ins with everybody and make sure that we are working towards the same goal and having the same ideas. After three years, what will look and feel different in Churchill County School District? And how will students, staff, families, and the community know your leadership has made a meaningful difference? >> Um, the main thing that I want everybody to say is is we feel like we are going in the right direction and and we're going in a positive direction. I've been able to achieve that at the school district that I'm at right now. When I came

089in, one of the things that they really and and the board was just very open and honest with me and they said, "Our culture is not where we want it to be. Students don't want to be here. staff don't want to be here and we're not where we want to be. So I sat down and I started working on a thought process in my mind. How do I help change that culture? Well, one of the things that I noticed was was that the communication was just very very low amongst administrative staff, teachers, and then also the students. Students didn't want to be there because the teachers weren't happy. And then all of a sudden it was the administrative team was having a hard time working with the teachers as well. And so the idea that

090we came about there was to say how do we develop an effective communication plan where people feel like they are willing to be here or students want to be here. What we did was was we got our students involved very much and just said what kind of changes would be meaningful to you guys? What changes do you guys want to see that would make you guys be happier here? We took their feedback openly honestly and we told them to be brutally honest with us. What do you like? What do you not like? We took those things and we did the exact same thing with our teaching staff. What do you like? What do you not like? what would increase your trust with our administration and our leadership. We made sure that we had targeted interventions

091for each area that we you know we basically tried to group everything into our three top priorities and said now that we have these how do we start working on these and I sat down with my administrative team and said let's develop plans to address each of these issues and we did the same thing actually with the community and the staff members. So we sent out to the parents and said what do you like what do you not like? We took their we took their feedback honestly and then we showed them that we were trying to work on the areas that we targeted and we didn't just do that by by showing it. We explained in there and we said according to you guys you don't like this was the overall idea that you didn't

092like and this is how we are going to try to fix that and then we had open and clear conversations with them at every single level community students teachers administrative staff and every level we tried to work on that now I can say that we still probably have a little bit further I'd like to go with our activities program because it's not where I want it but there is one consistent theme that I'm hearing from everybody where I'm at. We feel like the school is going in the right direction and I feel like that's the main thing I guess that I'd want to say as well too is you know this is a process. Sometimes it takes a little bit of time but everybody I hope would say we are going in the right direction

093and we feel good about where we're going. >> Thank you. Uh before we move to our closing remarks, we want to give you an opportunity to ask any questions of us or share anything important that we might have missed. Um, one of the things that I would like to ask is um, what do you guys feel would be your biggest areas that you what would I I guess the way I want to put this is what would you say I want to see in the first 90 days from the superintendent candidate and and even into the first year say this is what I would like our superintendent to do. This is what we need more than anything else. >> I'll go first if you want. I mean, I really want a plan and I want

094the plan followed, not just a plan on paper that there. I want to actually review the plan, look it over, make sure you're actually achieving that. And if you aren't achieving it, why is the plan too aggressive? The other one, I want you to get to know the community, the staff, the board. You're it's seven. You have seven bosses. Five of us will be here for at least the next two and a half years of the next superintendent. I think you need to get to know us, know our pet peeves, know what we are striving for and try to accomplish it. But I think getting out there and knowing everybody be my biggest goal for you. Anything else? >> I think that's a good summary. >> Okay. So, I just want to take a minute

095and uh thank you. Did you have any other questions first? Any other or statements? Um I I do have another o overall and I always like this because I do feel like facilities are a very important thing. I I kind of have this mindset and I I guess it kind of goes back to you know if kids feel like they are living in a situation where whether the facilities aren't great or the staff or anybody else. I always feel like you know it kind of lowers the the respectability and and the validity of what's going on. Um how do you feel overall you know in your guys' mind? Is there any other major facilities improvements that you guys would like to see made or anything that would think to improve the facilities and overall just

096improve the overall morale? Makes people take it more seriously. I guess in my mind, >> I actually think uh we're doing really good with facilities and we've done a really nice job of we have a capital plan that we review regularly with superintendent and board meetings and we make sure what the community wants and what that we need. I think we're in pretty good shape though on that. We just got to keep moving forward. Anybody else? >> Yeah, we we have at least a three-year plan already in place. So, that's that's not our I don't feel like that's where the board's focus >> needs to be because we've been on it already. Well, then probably the only other thing I'd want to add on there is to just say, um, you know, based off of

097some of your guys' qu on my questions on there, um, if you haven't already talked to some of my references from the board that I put on there, um, go ahead and ask them about my relationship that they have with me, I'm very confident that they will say I am very open in my communications with them and that that I do strive to make sure that the board is well informed of what's going on. And um, I would say that that's also one of my strengths is the relationship that I have with my board. Okay, with that said, I just want to thank you for your time, your thoughtful responses, your interest in serving the student, staff, and families of Churchill County School District. On behalf of the board of trustees, we appreciate the preparation

098reflection you have brought to this process. This concludes our formal interview questions for today. Once all interviews are completed, the board will move in deliberation to make hopefully make a decision. We'll communicate the next steps to the finalists once that's complete. Thank you again. Thank you. about 5 minutes. Yes. Good afternoon. Welcome. Hope you had a good drive and a good night's stay. Couple nights stay. Anyway, uh we appreciate your interest in serving as the next superintendent Churchill County School District. And thank you for taking the time with us today. The final interview is scheduled for one hour. To honor your time and allow each board member the opportunity to ask questions, we will move through our questions in an organized manner. may gently manage the time as needed so we can hear your responses

099on all key topics. We will starting with question one with trusty Bulock. >> Right in. >> What is what is it about Churchill County School District and the family community that compels you to seek this role? And how do your prior experiences in rural or small district settings prepare you to lead effectively here over the long term? I apologize. Technology is not my strong suit. I'll just say that right now. Um Natalie Burg, just for the record, thank you for the question. Um there are two things that are really drawing me to the opportunity here in Church Hill County. um both personal and professional. Um I'll start with professional. Um I have been in education for over 28 years, had a lot of different experiences and I'm very honored to currently serve as an associate

100superintendent over academics um for my current organization. Um what draw what drew me to Churchill uh County School District um is the vision and goals of this school district. They are very much in alignment with my professional goals. Those goals include operating out of integrity, having a student forward focus to ensure that all students have access to uh grade level appropriate instruction so they can be successful high school and post after high school. Um I also very much believe in relationship building and I know that that is a priority for the school district as well. I pride myself in making that a priority. Building relationships with administrators, district level administrators, school level administrators, teachers, support staff, students, parents, and the community that supports. And because those are my values and because those are the values

101of Church Hill County School District, when I saw this opportunity and read that, I very much felt compelled to put in an application and seek out this opportunity. On a personal level, um I currently do live in Las Vegas, which is not a small town community. Um but my very first teaching position was in a small town community. Um it was in the uh Bay Area in California on an island right off of Oakland, California and we were very much an island of our own. It was a beautiful community where um I was able to operate as a teacher. My principal, her daughter was a teacher also. So that really resonated a lot yesterday when I was interacting with a lot of people um because I sensed that same commodery and uh community sense where

102a lot of people know each other and I'm very comfortable and familiar with that. Um but my also the also another personal reason is I've always um thought that once my own children were grown and out of the house that I wanted to seek out an opportunity that matched both my professional and my personal goals. and this is the district for me. I am not applying to every opportunity out there. I am only seeking an opportunity that's in alignment with those two things. And I'm confident that Churchill County School District is a match for me. Um I would be very proud to serve as the next super question two. The role of superintendent is demanding especially in a small community where you are always on. How would you describe your leadership style, including your strengths

103and growth areas? And what personal strategies do you use to remain reflective, resilient, and open to feedback while modeling balance for your team? My leadership style first and foremost is that of servant leadership. Servant leadership for me means that in any position that I've been in, my my purpose is to serve those that I work with and who I spend my time with. So, as a superintendent, servant leadership looks like serving the school board, serving district level position, administrators, principles, assistant principles at the secondary level, uh teachers, staff, students. I'm here to serve. When I uh when I was a building principal, that was my number one priority to serve teachers and students. And that has always been how I've led behind servant leadership. I also am highly relational and collaborative. And that is how

104I lead. I lead by asking questions, getting to know um the stakeholders in the situation that I'm engaging myself in. um understanding pain points, understanding strengths, weaknesses, concerns and really building that relationship so that I can make informed decisions in a collaborative setting. I very much believe that I am not the expert at everything and I will look to those that are the experts in their field in their area so that we can together inform and make good decisions. Um, one of my strengths is exactly that. I pride myself in the relationships that I build. When I was a building principal, my retention rate in my schools were always in the 90s, 90%. My very first principal ship, I had 96% of my teachers return. And that is because I operate out of integrity. I

105do what I say and I build relationships and I care about the people who serve alongside me. and I will always bring that in any leadership position that I have. Um, I am also very open to feedback. Um, in this position in particular, I've been given a lot of feedback as I've grown and developed into this role. I am very reflective in terms of understanding why the feedback was given, where my shortcomings are, and how can I grow and improve. Um, I was very transparent in the panels yesterday afternoon where I was open about some of the things that maybe I wasn't 100% um, in my strong suit. Um, and I'm aware of those things and I'm always seeking and learning and also reaching out to those who I know I can learn from. I'm

106I'm always open to feedback and sometimes it's it's hard to hear, but I'm okay with that because at the end of the day, this job is not about me. This job is about students and making sure that they are achieving and they are accelerating. Question number three, a successful superintendent is one who is visible, approachable, and present in schools and the community. In your first six months, what specific actions will you take to become a trusted visible ambassador to the district with staff, families, students, the tribe, Fallon, NAS partners, and local government. So visibility is absolutely one of the things that I value and that I operate out of. was one of the reasons why I knew that this was a position and an opportunity that I wanted out because visibility that theme ran very

107strong through um board vision, school district vision and goals and so that was one of the reasons why I knew this very much was the correct professional and personal match for me. Um visibility is extremely important. That is how you begin to build relationships. That is how you begin to earn and build trust with all stakeholders. So in those first six months um I will be on campuses. I will be interacting with all stakeholders. My plan would be to make sure that I am very intentional with one-on-one meetings with school level administration, district level administration, all of you, um, teachers, staff, parents, and students. And it will not be done haphazardly. It will be done with an agenda, intention, with questions so that I can learn so that I can understand context of historical patterns

108from the school district and future goals and ambitions for this school district. And I will ensure that I do that in a very systematic way. I will also be visible at all of the events and opportunities in the community because I think it's very important that the community, parents, teachers, students see me out there supporting athletics, extracurricular activities, school functions. It's vital. And I'm at a point in my life right now where I'm able to do that. My children are grown. I have the time. I think work life balance is really important and I recognize in these first six to 12 months my work life balance is going to be unbalanced because it's going to take some time for me to earn the trust of everybody in this community. But I assure everyone that if

109I'm given this opportunity I am here to stay. I am going to put the time, effort, energy and do what I say and operate out of integrity. It's also vital that I meet with our community support. So the Naval Air Station, uh the uh Pyute Shosonyi tribe, um all of the other community resources and supports, I will also meet with them in the first six uh months, even sooner than that, because it's important to hear their voice, their experience of what it is like to send students to our school district. And that that would be the plan. have question four. I do like your voice. Uh staff recruitment and retention emerged as one of the highest priorities for the next superintendent. Please describe your philosophy and concrete strategies for improve improving retention, morale, and a

110positive working environment, especially in a small rural labor market where neighboring districts may offer competing compensation. I believe that staff recruitment and retention, specifically retention, is a vital component school district success. And I also understand that the uh pain points and roadblocks for having strong retention and recruitment in a small rural community poses a lot of challenges. This is one of the questions that I asked every single principal yesterday and I also talked to HR yesterday as well in my panel interview about strategies currently in underway for retention and for recruitment. My strategy for retaining teachers comes from all the things that I've shared already about building relationships and it's about pouring into our teachers. Teaching is a very challenging profession and one of the things that I really try to remember is what it

111is like to be a classroom teacher because I cannot lose sight of that as a superintendent. One of the biggest researchbacked strategies that I know that helps retain teachers is creating a positive proactive observation and feedback cycle. This is not evaluative in nature but supportive in nature. Teachers want their principles in classrooms. They want feedback. They want to know how they can grow and do better. They want ongoing support. And the only way that we as administrators can know what that support needs to be by being in their classroom and by meeting with them regularly to ensure that we are providing them with the support that we need. And if they're struggling, that is okay. How do we come up with a plan that's very intentional to begin to develop their pedigogy in their instructional

112practices? And this is something that I have implemented in my current position. I have always been a proponent of being in classrooms and that is what I have found to be the most impactful way to ensure that teachers with our district All right, question five. Academic achievement especially in ELA and math in an air is an area of focus for the district. Walk us through how you would diagnose our current performance. Set a limited number of clear instructional priorities and organize principles, teacher leaders, and central office staff to deliver measurable gains over the next three years. So academic achievement in ELA and math is critical. Um and my experience in instructional leadership has been exactly in this area. So I very much believe and understand the importance of having a very systematic approach to ensure

113that we are providing standardsbased aligned instruction that is rigorous and that is appropriate for each grade level in the areas of ELA and math. I understand that new curriculum has been purchased for ELA in K8 and that is one piece to the puzzle. But there needs to be an alignment, a process, a system on how we can align principles, teachers, and district support to ensure that we have a vision and a trajectory of how we're going to improve scores. I'm very well-versed in how um schools are rated uh based on the star report from Nevada Department of Education. I understand that it's achievement and growth and that will be one of the first things that I do. make sure that my team and my administrative team are very clear on what it takes to grow

114our schools academically as we're measured by Nevada Department. But more important than that is ensuring that every single child is getting what they need. And sometimes that looks different, which is why I really appreciated the learner center frame framework that is part of this school district because sometimes learning and growth for one child might look different for another. And so those are all of the components and pieces that have to be put together in order to have a system where we can have success and hit our goals within the next three years. I am I've done a lot of research and a lot of practice in professional learning communities which is essentially answering four essential questions. What do we want students to learn? How are we going to know if they've learned it? What do

115we do if we don't? And what do we do if they have? And that will be the foundation of my professional development for principles, teachers, assistant principles that we can maintain vertical alignment so that the transition from one grade to the next is done with intentionality. I understand that there is already time carved out for teachers and principles to have collaborative planning time and that time will be utilized to achieve this goal. I am this is one area that I know is a strength of mine. I have worked a lot in Clark County School District in the turnaround program where I've turned around an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. So, I have the experience and I have the knowledge of what it takes to ensure success for all of our schools,

116for all of our students. It does take time and so I appreciate this question that it's a runway of three years because this kind of work does not happen overnight. And so I also want to balance a sense of urgency with understanding that this is a long-term goal and a long-term game. And the urgency comes from the fact that an eight-year-old will never get second grade again. Right? this is their time to learn second grade standards in ELA and math. We want to have systems in place immediately to ensure that we are doing that as quickly as possible as well as always keeping clear on the long-term goal of all of our schools improving in their RA. >> Education evolves continually and effective leaders find innovative solutions to persistent challenges. Describe a specific example where

117you championed academic innovation such as competencybased learning, a new instructional model, or a creative approach to improve student outcomes. How you built staff and community support for the change and what measurable results you observed. >> Six years ago, I was hired as a principal for the organization that I currently work for, and it was very evident to me as I was there that there was a lack of a system for for teachers understanding standards for a system where teachers and principles could gather the correct data analyze that data and make informed decisions immediately for students where there were gaps that were already forming. the that whole system did not exist. And in the Clark County School District, that was a lot of the work that I did. And so I very quickly began the the

118work of improving our academic programming for our current organization. Um so first and foremost it was a lot of professional development on um understanding the Nevada academic content standards providing professional development for administrators and teachers on what those standards really mean because they're complex and we need to unwrap standards so that we can break them down into specific learning targets. And then once we understand the learning targets, how do we align and use our curriculum as a resource to help teachers instruct those learning targets? There was a lot of professional development that needed to happen um because none of that was happening in my current organization. The data that they were collecting was also data that uh did not truly measure progress towards grade level standards with the appropriate rigor. So we I worked with

119a team I I gathered a team of teachers, administrators, instructional leaders where we could uh revise and create more robust assessments so that we were actually looking at data that informed us on how students were performing in grade level standards. Once all of that was done, then it was a matter of looking at instruction because tier one instruction on our campuses was very teacher-led, a lot of direct instruction. The teacher was doing a lot of the talking and the students were doing a lot of listening. So, not only did the professional development have to talk about the what we are going to use, but then it was how are we going to instruct. So then that required a lot of professional development and expectation on uh ensuring that our teachers were delivering instruction that was

120gradually released for students that was differentiated for students meaning meeting the needs for each child and then assuring that they were that the teachers were doing ongoing formative assessment so that they could catch kids very quickly when they were not understanding. There was a lot of resistance at first. Uh there was a lot of questions in needing to understand the why behind that very important work. It is one of the projects that I am most proud of because the results that we are now seeing in our schools are profound. One of our schools was a persistent threestar school and now both at elementary and middle school are five-star schools. We have another school that was a persistent onestar elementary school and I'm proud to say that last year it was a four-star school. And so

121that success validated a lot of the work done. We still have a lot of work to do, a lot of professional development and reinforcement. Um but that that is an example that I'm happy to share with stakeholders identified special education in MTSS as critical areas of expertise. Share a specific example of how you have led implementation or improvement of MTSS and services for students with disabilities, including the data you tracked, how you supported principles and teachers and the outcomes you achieved. So in my current position um in addition to establishing the professional learning community and the academic model that I just described in the previous question another another initiative was developing and revamping our MTSS system. I have a lot of experience in this area as well. I firmly believe that equity for all students

122is imperative. That is our obligation to ensure that all students both academically and behaviorally who struggle in school deserve the the immediate attention that they require so that they can be successful in school. So the MTSS system um that I have established is one where we provide in addition to tier one instruction which is what all students deserve and are supposed to have. What then does tier 2 intervention look like? So again we need to have multiple data points. We utilize a system um with web which is a progress monitoring system that helps us identify students with with significant gaps in their uh academics specifically in ELA and math. And so then we've designed an intervention and enrichment block of time where teachers are providing intervention for students that are uh identified based on that

123tier 2 data and that those interventions that teachers provide are directly connected to the data of where the gap is for the child. first grader and they're still unable to um uh sound out a CBC word like cat, we need to provide them with the direct instruction that they need so they can access that and be able to decode words. When students still don't respond to that intervention, we then have to develop an opportunity for them to have intensive tier three intervention and that requires a more one-on-one or very small group appo approach typically with a specialist. I met a couple literacy specialists yesterday and so and I've seen that in action here already at some of the elementary schools where identified students are being for that extra support and that is what I developed

124on on my at my organization as well. When students don't respond to tier three intervention and we have enough data, then we can begin the conversation of when student when students don't respond to intervention and perhaps we need to look into an assessment for possible special education identification. And so there ha it has to be very systematic. We don't want to overqualify. We don't want to underqualify students. So we want to understand that we have done everything that we can fill in the gaps and when that is still not enough it is our responsibility to move forward with the special education identification process. So that that is a system that I created for our organization where teachers meet weekly, I'm sorry, bi-weekly, where they're looking at data, where they're sharing instructional practices, where they're sharing

125resources so that they can work together as a team to meet the needs of children. But MTSS is not just academics, it's behavior as well. And so we also need to make sure that when we have students that are struggling in the classroom, we have to gather that data and understand why. I saw some beautiful examples on campus yesterday where there are lots of PBIS supports for students. I'm very well verssed in PBIS as well and that is something that we integrated in my current organization as well. not the PBIS system, but we uh use behavior interventionists so that we could gather data and provide tier 2 and tier three intervention for students that are struggling behaviorally. Um also, so that that is my experience with MTSS. I saw a lot of examples already here

126in Churchill County. Um and I can bring my knowledge, my experience to make that even more robust. Question eight, student safety, behavior, and bullying are top concerns expressed in a recent community survey. Describe your approach to student discipline and school safety, including how you balance clear expectations and consequences with restorative practices and social emotional supports and how you would engage families when serious incidents occur. Student safety will always be my number one priority. And student safety is both physical safety and emotional safety. And for a variety of reasons that emotional safety right now something that our students really struggle with. So we need to be really aware of why that is. what are the root causes and then how can we make a plan to address those needs. So it is very important that I

127gather information in the previous question when we talked about those first six months. One of the things that I would want to do is look into the data. I will look at student discipline data. I will look at student safety surveys that are required to do in the state of Nevada. But what additional surveys have been done? What is the student perception of how they feel on campus both for physical and emotional safety? I also want to hear from parents. What is their perspective? Because a lot of times students will not share at school but we'll go home and share with their families. So I want to gather that information first so that we can then look about what are we currently doing for in uh for intervention for those things. Again, I saw a

128lot of examples yesterday of where some restorative practices are really already in place. I very much want to see those in action. I saw it at um Numa Elementary School, saw at the high school, I saw it at the middle school where there are um counselors and um other identified staff personnel that create have created safe spaces for children. deescalate, but not only that, but then to restore the behavior, whether it's with another student. I heard um restore at the door, which is a great idea where the student and the teacher can restore that behavior right away immediately in the moment so that students are not missing instructional time, but that the teacher is also heard and that there is um restorative on both ends for both the adult and the child. So, there are

129already a lot of great things in place here at Churchill County that I that I just saw in my brief visits yesterday. And so, when I when if I am uh selected as the next superintendent, I will absolutely want to see all of those practices in place um in real time so that I can better understand it. I will also make myself available available to parents and the community um in the form of advisory superintendent advisory groups. Um I will my my vision would be that I have uh systematic opportunities for teachers to meet with me, parents in a forum to meet with me, students. I want to hear from students what their experiences that we can continue to make sure that what is currently in place is meeting the need and if it's not

130meeting the need what do we need to do to adjust what's on so that we can ensure that students come to school ready to learn not worried about are they going to be feeling safe today in Question nine. Financial stability for our district is a clear priority. Please describe your experience with school or district budgeting and long-term capital or facilities planning and explain how you would build a multi-year financial plan that is transparent, student centered, and sustainable in a district our size. So with with any financial or budget decision, I always operate with asking myself five questions and then engaging in those questions with all of the appropriate stakeholders to include schoolboard, the controller, and any other stakeholders that would need to be. And so here's what I mean by that. First and foremost, I

131want to talk about the need. So whether it's a short-term or long-term financial plan, what is the need? Why are we considering a particular decision that can impact the budget? So for example, I know that um Churchill County just recently purchased curriculum. That is a longterm financial investment. So if that were the scenario, I would ask what is the need? Why is there a need to purchase? So I would investigate that. Next thing I would ask is is it aligned to schoolboard and district goals and vision for the school district. So if the need if we determine yes, there's a need for curriculum, then is that aligned to our vision and our goals? And the answer might be yes. The answer might be no, but that's what we would discover. That's what we would try

132to figure out. There must be alignment to our vision. Everything has to make sense. The third thing I would ask is impact. So if we determine there is a need and there is alignment to our goals for purchasing curriculum, what would be the impact? What what will what will be the ramifications of having curriculum? Will it improve the teacher experience? Will it improve the student experience? Will the curriculum help us be more aligned to state standards? Then we want to investigate the impact. Fourth, we talk about sustainability, especially when we're talking about a long-term range u in the budget for multi-year. How will we sustain the cost of purchasing curriculum because sustainability in this instance in this example would be are there consumables? What is the year afteryear cost and impact? Are we engaging in

133a one-year contract? Are we engaging in a three-year contract? Six year I would want to know how do we sustain this large purchase? But sustainability is not in the thing that we're purchasing. But how will we ensure that we haveers who understand how to implement the curriculum? We have administrators who understand not only the curriculum but when they get into classrooms to provide teachers with appropriate feedback on the integration of that curriculum. And so sustainability is a huge component because if we're spending a lot of money on anything, how what is our plan for sustainability? And then last, I'll ask about equity. Is this initiative purchase going to provide an equitable opportunity for all students? So in the case of curriculum, we need to look at and ensure that the curriculum is going to provide

134resources for all students. Does the curriculum offer extension opportunities for our students who are academically above grade level? Will it uh provide opportunities for teachers to have intervention for that MTSS tier 2, tier three? What opportunities in the curriculum are going to offer that for teachers and students? And so ensuring that this use of financial funds in in this example curriculum is that going to offer equity for our students. So it's really essential that we do that. One of the things that I'm working on right now in my current position is we are not a onetoone technology school and it is a huge financial uh commitment. And so currently um myself, my superintendent and the school board and principles, we are working together to answer those questions that we can make an informed decision um

135of how we can determine if the purchase for onetoone technology for our schools addresses all of those issues. Is there a need? Is it aligned? What will be the impact? How do we sustain it? Which is where we're at right now. The sustainability is critical for how our budget will uh measure up in the years to come and then how are assured that that will be equitable for all students. >> Question 10. Successful superintendents in Nevada must clarify roles and work effectively within a balanced governance model. How do you define the proper roles of the board and the superintendent? And what are two or three concrete practices you use to keep the board well informed? Avoid surprises and ensure that policy oversight and operations remain appropriately aligned. >> It's okay. I used to have alarms

136when I was a principal for every single passing period so that I made sure that I was in the hallway and oftentimes I would forget to turn that off as well. No worries. Um, okay. So, first of all, in terms of the proper roles of the board and superintendent, so the school board and the superintendent must work collaboratively, right? the board um ensures that there is a vision for the school district, that there is policy, that there is accountability, and it's vital that the school board and the superintendent understand and are on the same page with what those three things are. Um I have had a I've been fortunate to have a lot of experience working with our current school board. I have served as the associate superintendent but oftent times my superintendent asks me

137um to have always a component of where I am presenting to the school board especially under the areas of academics. who I also understand the importance of having clear consistent communication to be transparent on the current status of schools and I appreciate this part of the question about surprises because I have learned I have learned that surprises is absolutely not what I would ever want the school board to face. I think it's more important to be transparent with information even if it's not favorable. Give an example. Our schools have been struggling and oftent times in the past the the data that was shared with our school board prior to me um was not always a clear picture of how our schools were performing. And nothing is worse than having uh state assessment results come in

138and having to be asked why did not how did you not know about this ahead of time and why are we were were we not informed. I've seen that happen and so I've learned from that to to make sure I never do that. Um, in one of our last board meetings after we had our winter map data, it was my responsibility to be transparent and honest with the board about how our uh benchmark testing went in December with MAP testing was not favorable. It was not where we wanted it to be. It wasn't it wasn't bad, but it wasn't where we wanted it to be. And I made sure that I had information data and that I painted a very honest and clear picture to the school board of where we were at. And then

139I also had solutions ready to go, action plans ready to go, of why I think it happened and what we are doing about it. And I made sure that I came prepared so that I could answer questions for the school board to make sure that they know that we are aware and they and that we are making adjustments appropriately so that when data does come out and we are not surprised by the information surprises to the school board. I don't I don't like surprises either and I absolutely would never want to put any of you in that position. Um, I also think it's very important to be very clear on policy. Um, oftent times there there's a I I took a brief look, but there's a lot of policy and that would be 100% one

140of the first things I do as well be really well-versed in the historical policy that's been established here in Churchill County. Um, I'm very well verssed on our policy in my current organization. So, I can talk to many different areas in terms of um our our promises and our expectations of how we handle um parent complaints, teacher complaints, um bargaining, all of the things. And so, that would be one of my uh responsibilities as a superintendent so that I'm clear on policy that board has established so that we can work collaboratively. Um, I also expect that we um at times may have professional disagreements and I think that's healthy because I think we need to be able to talk about hard things because at the end of the day, if that's what's going to improve

141Church Hill School District and the student experience, then I'm okay with having tough conversations so that we are um able to move forward united to serve serves all of our students. Question 11. Effective superintendants build and guide a strong district leadership team. How do you approach supervising principles and central office administrators to ensure alignment with district goals? Clear of accountability for results and ongoing professional growth. Supervising principles is an area of strength of mine and the reason for that is because I operate with the philosophy of empowerment and accountability. And before that can happen, there has to be trust and relationship building, which I know I talked about earlier, but I would like to re review that and revi and and remind everybody about that again. It takes time to build trust. And so I

142will ensure that I am visible on campuses and that I will be very intentional with when and how I interact with principles that we can begin to build that trust. Some examples that I have already done that I would continue to do is having intentional weekly one-on-one meetings with an agenda to also observe principles in um any type of an administrative meeting. If they're meeting with their front office staff, facilities, uh personnel that are outside of the classroom, I'd want to observe principles um during staff meetings. I'll observe principles uh during their Friday afternoon professional development time, but I need to see principles in action. I'll I'll I'll happily and always go into classrooms with principles. I want to understand the type of instructional leader that they are as well. What kind of feedback that

143they provide teachers and and do I need to support them in that area as well. So it's again taking the time to be on their campuses to ensure that I have a relationship and have have shown them that you operate out of integrity and I will do what I say and I will be on your campus and I am here to support. And then once I get a picture of where that principal is at in their professional practice, then we can devise goals for their growth and improvement for the current for the year. And then I and I'll ensure that those goals are measurable. And then as I'm on campus, I can uh meet with them on a regular basis to see progress towards their goals. So that that that is that is the process.

144That's how I will establish the trust and the relationship with principal. And then I will empower them. At the end of the day, they know what's best for their campus. and I have to trust that they will make the correct decisions for their campus. But I balance that empowerment with accountability. So if I can give an example, I supervised a principal and he was very adamant that his MTSS structure, the students that he identified for tier 2 and tier three intervention, he had data, he had um a plan of of which students he wanted his teachers to focus on. I was not 100% certain that that was the correct plan of action, but I empowered him to do that plan. But very quickly as we gathered data and as I had in checks with him

145and had accountability, we could see that the growth that he was hoping for, he wasn't able he wasn't able to get that growth from students. And so then the accountability piece had to come in where then we had to work together to revise his plan. But I will always first and foremost empower principles to make the decisions that they think is best uh for their school. But I like to balance that and that is how I supervise and that is how I evaluate principles. Um before this position I was a leadership principal coach and so that was primarily my entire job was to coach, supervise and grow and develop principles and assistant principles as well as teachers. I did that as well a little bit. One of the running jokes in Clark County School District

146when I was a principal there was I couldn't keep an assistant. And the reason why was because I group developed them so quickly that they were qualified and ready for a principal ship. And so I I would lose my assistant principal to a promotion. And so it was a a double-edged sword, so to speak, because um they were fantastic assistant principles and I wanted them to continue to run schools with me, but I also wanted to grow and develop them. So I'm very proud of that because this is an area that I have seen such growth and potential in leaders that I after three years. What will look and feel different in Churchill County School District? And how will students, staff, family, and the community know your leadership has made a meaningful difference? So my

147vision for three years from now should I be named the next superintendent is very clear to me. First and foremost is the academic achievement of our students. I with 100% confidence know that we can grow and develop the academic success of our schools. The vision that I have and the goal that I will set is that we have schools that are three stars or higher. And at the two elementary schools that don't necessarily earn a star because of the grade level, we will have metrics in place to measure if those students are on the right track towards that three star or higher mark. And we can do that with summitive assessments, uh, benchmark assessments, reading readiness levels. So that that is going to be 100% three years from now, we will have all schools three

148stars or higher. That would be the goal. That's one area for the vision. The second one is, and I know that this is a board goal as well, is uh the average daily attendance. We need children in school every day and on time. And right now the goal would be to get at um the average daily attendance for our district to be at 95% or higher. We will be there in three years. That will be the goal. Chronic absenteeism is a persistent issue. not only here in Churchill but in the organization that I currently work for as well. It is a persistent issue in the state of Nevada. And so not only ensuring that our average daily attendance improves, but we also will in three years see that the chronic absenteeism rate will drop. Those

149two will work hand in hand. And when we have that attendance in place, that will make first goal much more attainable because we need children here every day to get to those three stars or higher. And then third will be teacher retention. We have to work on ensuring that our teachers stay with us. And when I say teacher retention, I want to put that under the umbrella of just retention in general, right? We need our principles to stay, our assistant principles to stay, district officials to stay. You'll need your superintendent to stay. And I promise you that I would not be here today if my intention wasn't to be here long term. I understand that I don't currently live in Churchill County, but I cannot wait to move to Fallon, Nevada. I spent two hours

150yesterday driving around the community after a very long day, and I spent some of the morning doing the same because I wanted to make sure that not only was I right when I saw the opportunity, that this was the right match for me, but I wanted to live it and feel it. And so retention is important for every person but in three years our teacher retention rates will improve and I am confident that I know how to do that by what I spoke about earlier which is ensuring that we pour into our teachers that we have intentional professional development that they do not feel that things are being done to them that we that we explain the why behind our decision- making that we are in their classrooms that we are providing feedback to them

151that we are ensuring that we are here to support them not just evaluate them. In three years we will have schools that are highly achieving children are happy to come here every day because they feel safe and our teachers will stay because they are being poured into. That is my aspiration for where we will be in three years. Thank you. Uh before we move to our closing remarks, we want to give you an opportunity to ask any questions of us or share anything important that we've not already heard. >> I do have a question. Um my question would be that in the next 12 to 18 months, what is the expectation of the school board with the new superintendent in terms of um the the goals and the um initiatives that are most important to

152the school board to ensure that I am embodying those in my first year to year and a half. really like to understand what it is that the board is caring about the most with a new superintendent in place. >> Maybe hit this one. >> Me too. >> Wonder if somebody else wants to go >> on the quest. >> All right. I guess I will do it. >> I apolog I don't mean to put anybody on the hot seat. First >> first first of all 12 to 18 months is a long time. I would look more near-term where you have a plan for coming into the district and where you're going to go and how you're going to become a part of this community. How you going to get to know staff, students? I was telling

153the last person, five of us will be on the board for the next superintendent at least two and a half years, possibly six of us. Want you to get to know us, get to know the students, get to know the community, be visible. Everybody knows you. You you become the face of the school district. going further out than that, setting the goals, being on the same page as us, and actually doing some of the stuff you said you could do. They're pretty aggressive. Some of the things you told us that you would like to do are it's going to take a little bit of time to get those done, but that's kind of where I'm at. Somebody else want to follow up on that? >> K kind of along the same line. The board has

154a a clear vision and direction for the district, but our our roadmap to get there is a bit outdated. So up updating a framework and a roadmap and a strategic plan get us there. >> Thank you for bringing that up because I do want to share what my plan would be for the immediate first 90 days. Um the first 90 days uh would in would require persistent visibility in schools in the community meeting with all stakeholders. that would have to happen in the first 90 days. That includes meeting with all of you with principles, with teachers, with students, with parents, uh with the with the community partnerships that we currently have. And that is going to help me hear where pain points are and where strengths are. And also, because I'm new to the community,

155it's going to help me understand context. I need to understand the history as well. And because I didn't live it, I'm only able to read it. I want to really understand it. I need to understand how Churchill County got to where it is. And then what can we do to make it better? Second, I would do a tremendous data dive. All things data, academic data, um, attendance data. Want to look at trends. I want to fully understand our financials. Meeting with with the controller and her team. I want to understand uh student perception data, parent data, whatever data the school district currently has. That will be the second thing that I do because I need to know those two things to do exactly what you're speaking of because I agree. I did look at the

156district strategic plan. I believe it was written in 2018 2019. Um, it has three goals with lots of objectives and and and and some really great things have come out of it. The learner center framework, the profile of a student learner. Um, so I'm not about I'm I please do not hear me. I'm not about changing all of that, but I need to understand uh all of the perspectives so that we can make I believe a much needed revision to that u strategic plan. And then that strategic plan will be in alignment with the district goals and school goals in terms of school performance plans that we have to submit to state of Nevada. All of that will be very aligned. It will be cohesive and then that will drive the work that we do.

157So it will be student centered, teacher centered, community centered so that we are ensuring those three things that I talked about right to ensure that we're increasing um star ratings for schools that we have teacher retention that we have students wanting to come to. So so that is exactly what I envision happening in the first 90 days and all of that will be done in a very collaborative manner um with with the team that I have. And then on a separate note, I am very aware I am very aware that I am going to be new to this community and it will take time to become considered part of the community. That will be my goal and I will do that very intentionally. I I understand that it will be a very heavy lift. Not

158afraid of that work. If this opportunity positioned itself five years ago, I wouldn't have applied for it because I knew that I wouldn't be able to give the time and attention that it needed to build the trust of this community. But this is the right time for me. And I assure you that I have um a long-term goal and plan always of wanting to leave Las Vegas, find small community, and find a position that's very much aligned with my um core beliefs of how we are to treat students and teachers and run schools and also to be part of something bigger, which is this community here. So, I very much um have done this by intention in terms of choosing to sit before you today. >> Good. So, I I do have a clarifying question

159that may not be applicable to other candidates. Just just you and I just talk for just a minute so I know what that question is because it's hard to offer an opinion without understanding. Hold on just a second. You got 41 seconds. >> You're welcome. >> In your your application, I didn't see any reference to teaching experience. And during the interview, you you had mentioned that you were a teacher. So, can you explain when and how long you were in the classroom? >> Yes, I was in a classroom for eight years in California. That was in that small town community that I spoke of. I taught fifth grade. Um, and then when I made the move to Las Vegas, I continued teaching fifth grade for two years. And then I moved to the middle school

160where I was a sixth grade reading teacher for two years before I was given my first administrative position in 2008. I also want to note that in one of the years in California, I also served for the district as a uh title one literacy specialist and then that position unfortunately no longer could be funded and so then I went back to the classroom. >> Okay, with that uh thank you for your time, your thoughtful responses, your interest in serving the students, staff, and families of Churchill County School District. On behalf of the board of trustees, we appreciate the preparation and reflection you have brought to this process. Includes our formal questions for today. Once all interviews are completed, board will move in deliberation process. We will communicate next steps to all the finanists once that

161is complete. Thank you very much again. >> Thank you so much. I appreciate the time today and thank you for the um opportunity to visit your schools yesterday. It was a pleasure. I missed. >> You should have said two. You should have said two because then we go for a fight. >> Yeah. Father. leg. Like does anything keep you get like from working out then sitting or just >> Uhhuh. >> No, that's what it is. Because yesterday like so I ran for the first time with Jerry on Tuesday like since we haven't ran since like December and my knee always like I have to get back into it because my knee but yesterday I can tell my hips >> were like stuck like I've been sitting too long at my desk and I'm like oh

162my knee like yeah if I keep moving then I'm fine you know but it's like yeah >> the sitting Thankfully, we get little stretch breaks. If you haven't done those, it's like you're hungry. I don't The last time the process was I want to say Yeah. I mean, it's a little foggy just because so much to it. >> Yeah. >> But there was initial interviews and then it cut and then final interview. We like it was a lot. It was a lot. Yeah. Cuz like we interviewed in that room and we had a lot to interview and then we had to like delivery and determine like our top however many like four I think and then we brought back like the top four. No, another day. >> Oh. >> Like for final interviews. >> Yeah.

163>> You know, like cuz then you're like well cute now I have to come back. Especially the ones that are far away, right? So it was nice that these guys like narrowed down finalist criteria because essentially we needed that stuff last time. So I was like not looking forward to the process when when you know I found out we were going to have to hire. But like this process has gone a lot more streamlined, a lot more kind of like get to the nittygritty like tell the firm what it is you're looking for and let them do their work, you know? We had a we had a a guy that did like a head hunter person, but he wasn't from this area. >> He was just like guess well known and he was retiring but

164he agreed to like take us on. So >> whatever I this process has been a lot nicer. >> Yeah. >> Kind of nervous from the end though. from the end >> like when we get to the end I'm like I'm dreading that moment like listening and all the things you know like that part like >> I like that I like that >> because here's the thing and this and this like were on paper because they had every point to the question like point There were some questions the first step, but there's something No. You ready? >> So, Mike, good afternoon. Welcome. We appreciate your interest in serving as the next superintendent of Churchill County School District and thank you for taking the time to be with us today. Final interview is scheduled for one hour.

165To honor your time and allow each board member the opportunity to ask questions, we will move through our questions in an organized manner. May generally manage time as needed so we can hear your responses on all key topics. It will be timed and if you're running out of time, you will get a little where you're at. First question goes to Trusty Boof. >> What is it about Churchill County School District and the Fallon community that compels you to seek this role? And how do your prior experiences in rural or small district settings prepare you to lead effective here over the long term? >> I got it. Thank you for the question. I've worked here for this school year, but I have worked with Churchill County School District over the years in my capacity as a

166school trustee in Carson City and a member of NASBY's executive team as well as the board of directors and oftentimes Parson City, Lion County, and Churchill County work together, coordinated problems that we were all facing together. And so what I know about Churchill County is that it's very similar to the other counties that I've worked with, Carson City, Lang County, uh small communities, a lot of people who truly care about education and the students in the community and educators that really want to do their best. uh schools who are strapped for resources to provide everything we need for students in an environment that be challenging. It's become even more challenging as we try to overcome the effects of the co situation. So that's my interest. I know the heart of this community and as an

167employee I've come to see it firsthand and experience it. One of the strengths of this school district is positive culture in each and every one of our schools. And that's not common in every school district. When you walk in those buildings, you feel that they're happy places. You see students smiling. You see staff members interacting with students, principles interacting with students and educators in a way that's professional, positive, and that's huge because the number one thing to having effective schools is having effective positive relationships and positive climates in the building. So that attracts me to this district. We're small. We all work hard and that's promising as well. So, I've worked my whole educational career in small communities. I started as a teacher in Carson City. I went up through the ranks as the dean

168of students at Carson Middle School and assistant principal and acting principal at Rich Elementary School. Then I went and worked a little bit at the Department of Education managing title one grants for various school districts and overseeing the state's homeless education program in which I provided technical assistance to all school districts. And so I've been able to compare and contrast what we do here with other districts and I know we have things going well in this district. So that attracts me and I would just say that Carson City was my home. When I went into the teaching career, there was a dispute between Governor Gwyn and the legislature about uh updating the tax structure in the state and nobody was hiring. Carson City had one opening and I called the principal and she pulled me

169in for an interview and I went with a candidate who was known to the committee and had been working in the school in various capacities. And that was a one-year position and the principal said, "I can't promise you anything. I have a teacher who forgot to turn in his resignation letter and it's a standard physician teaching third grade and that's how it started. I envisioned myself teaching one year in Carson City and moving back home to the Reno area. But I fell in love with that small knowing the family and students. And that's what I like about small rural communities. We know each other. When somebody has a problem in the schools, they know who to come talk to. And when we have a concern about a family, we know who to talk. That close

170connection is a strength. And I would just say over the long term, I've I've worked over 20 years in education and I've gone I think my path has been a little bit different than most people. I was a school trustee before I was an actual school principal. So, I've worked on all sides of education and I'm ready to spend the end of my career as a superintendent building a strong system that meets the needs of kids and is a benefit for the community. So, that's my intent. >> Okay. Question two. The role of superintendent is demanding, especially in a small community where you are always on. How would you describe your leadership style, including your strengths and growth areas? And what personal strategies do you use to remain reflective, resilient, and open to feedback while

171modeling balance for your team? >> There's a lot here. I'm just processing my mind. So I would say my style I am collaborative and I build strong relationships with people and when it comes to being reflective I'm very open about the fact I need to be reflective and so often times I'll listen to all sides of the issue and then I'll even give an initial thought. I think this might be a challenge. We have policies that stipulate that we do XYZ, but there could be some workarounds. Let me think about it. And then I do follow up. And often times I and I usually use my quiet time doing this kind of second guessing myself, my initial reaction and problem solving and going back and checking the policy, checking the collective bargaining agreement, checking the

172NRS and analyzing uh that against what is being requested. And then I follow up. I make a well-informed decision and I implement. Then when we're implementing something, I also monitor progress and when needed, I'm not afraid to stop and look at that, make tweaks, and if something's going really well, I'm not afraid to raise the bar a little bit because we could do better. We should do better. So that's one of the things I think people learned about me early on as a school principal is when they'd ask me things. Well, I don't know if we could do that. Let me think about it. I really would think about it. And then I'd come back to them the next day and they're like, "Oh, I thought you were just going to shine me on." And

173I think that that's something I'm very deliberative and I like to I like things to be done right the first time and I like things to be consistent and a leader I respect that. I ask a boss a supervisor something and they give me an answer and then the next day it's something else really hard for me to trust that process. And so for me, I try to make sure that I'm being very clear in my communications and intentional in what we enact in whatever department it might be. And so then what personal strategies do I you know one of the things and our one of my challenges here is that I've only been here this school year but as people are starting to see I build those relationships and I do follow up with

174people and I do bounce ideas off of people and so I keep myself grounded in what's happening in the schools talking to teachers and parents and I get to know the students because trust me, the students are who's going to tell you what's really happening. They know. And so those are some of my strategies that I've used in the past. Question three. A successful superintendent is one who is visible, approachable, and present in schools and the community. In your first six to 12 months, what specific actions will you take to become a trusted visible ambassador for the district, the staff, families, students, the tribe, Fallon, NAS partners, and local governments. >> I think the number one, you have to be present, and you could do that through a number of ways. forums. Um, for instance,

175this school year, one of the things I did um with Karina and Lenel and Caitlyn, we went to every single school's back to school night, meeting families, providing them with information about the school calendar, start times, transportation schedules, um, answering whatever questions they might have. A lot of times people wanted to know where specific classrooms were and so to learn buildings real quick to help in some of those cases. But that's one of the strategies this year. I think you are there at events, you're meeting people, you're going to forums outside of events, whether there's a Rotary Club or chamber of commerce that has interactions with the school district that we could build relationships. And I think those relationships are really key because one of the things that we're seeing nationwide is there's huge need

176for mental health supports for students. And there aren't a lot of mental health resources available for students and specifically in rural communities. So those of us in rural communities, what we're all doing is fighting for those appointments that are nine months away in typically Reno and trying to put band-aids on the situation and work with our families, our schools to meet the needs of kids with the limited expertise we have. And so that's one of the things that makes it so important to be a community partner. And in every job I've ever had, I've become a community. I'm active in the community. And I will do that as a superintendent. Right. Staff recruitment and retention emerged as one of the highest priorities for the next superintendent. Please describe your philosophy and concrete strategies for improving

177retention, morale, and a positive working environment, especially in a small rural label labor market where neighboring districts may offer competing compensation. This this is everything in a because we're dealing with a crisis where we don't have enough people going to school to become. And so as our workforce is aging and leaving the field, we don't have very many people to replace them with. And when we do find those candidates and bring them into the district, it's really important that number one, we have attractive pay structures and benefits pack. This in rural communities is huge because for majority of new teachers going into the field, they can't afford to live in our community. There aren't homes high, rent is very high. and inventory is low. And so we have to be creative with our community and

178make sure that we're working on that so that there is a place for somebody to go. If somebody can't find a place to live, not going to be able to work in your community. Um, you also need to make sure that in addition to having those basic structures in place, you have positive supportive culture in the district as well as in their school. and started by talking about how that's one of the strengths we have. This this is a happy place, work and go to school and we need to make sure to build upon that and provide our educators with training and resources to be successful in their classroom. This is an area of challenge that we're having right now because we've been pushed to implement new curriculum programs for ELA and mathematics and that

179requires a lot of professional development and support to support change and to enable teachers to kind of shift their practices. And I don't think what we've been able to provide them, especially in the ELA realm, has provided the level of training they need. So, we have to have benefits. Hey, we have to have a supportive environment. People have to like to work where they're working. Happy people stay in their jobs. All of us want to be happy when we go to work. So, do our teachers just like our students want to be happy go to school. And so I think we do a lot of work in our PLC time with not only looking at academics but also looking at culture, climate and listening to our employees. That's one of the things that as a

180new superintendent, I would spend a lot of time listening to stakeholders, principles, community members, students, really getting a sense from them of what's going well, what support do they need, and what can we do to make their jobs easier. >> Okay, question five. Academic achievement, especially in ELA and math, is an area of focus for the district. Walk us through how you would diagnose our current performance, set a li limited number of clear instructional priorities, and organize principles, teacher leaders, and central office staff to deliver measurable gains over the next three years. So this is something that I'm actively working on right now. So one of the things that came out of the last legislature, there's been a push to include professional development into requirements from the state. And first of those is we're in

181the middle of right now. There's going to be two things we're working on about the science of reading. So all K through three teachers, principles and principal supervisors uh have to have training in the sciences and so I'll say I think that's a good thing even though they didn't fund it which makes it a little bit of a challenge but it is vital because literacy is the most important skill for our students. If our students don't leave first grade reading, they're going to struggle academically their whole academic career. And I think that probably Katherine spends a lot of time with those kids at WNC. They're struggling when they get to postsecary schooling because they're missing those foundational skills. It's real hard to teach those in addition to the advanced content that students are starting to

182get exposed to in fourth, fifth, all the way up through high school. So we would number one for our plan for next year we're going to have that training take place for our K through three teachers. We're also going to bring in our instructional our um kindergarten pair professionals because they help with the direct instruction of literacy because in addition to certified staff, we also have to make sure that our our professionals, our classified staff that work with elementary school receive the same training. So we're we have a plan to embed that training throughout the first semester. Numa falls out of that category because they're fourth and fifth grade, but we know that it's important for upper elementary grades to have science of reading training as well. And so we have a plan for them

183to have a little bit different training that starts a second semester that's targeted to the skills of the higher grades. So what's going to be embedded in addition to that training will also be time embedded into PLC where we're implementing and analyzing achievement and performance of our students as well as teachers and identifying areas of further professional development. So that was that's the professional development plan and from there as we work through effective PLC meetings in our schools we start to set clear goals for at that school working with the principal working with district office. So when you look at our achievement, so in your goals for the next three years, starting last year, you want to have 15% increase. So we started with ELA, elementary school, we're looking at 34% achievement, middle school 27,

184and then math, I mean, and then high school 28%. There's a lot of room to grow there, and that's going to take making sure that our teachers in those earliest grades are hitting those foundational skills so that when we get to middle school, high school, we're truly able to work on problem solving, communicating effectively through writing verbally. So, making that plan that goes all the way through Education evolves continually and effective leaders find innovative solutions to persistent challenges. Describe a specific example where you championed academic innovation such as competency based learning, a new instructional model, or a creative approach to improve student outcomes. how you built staff and community support for the change and what measurable results you observed. know one of the the challenges when you talk about compet competency based education or even

185a learner centered framework is that that innovation is taking place in our schools but the policies of the state haven't necessarily kept up with that and so the reality the reality makes it challenging to fully implement what that initiative might look one of the things I I recognized as a site principal that students were really struggling with mathematics and problem solving at my school. And so working with a consultant in RPDP, I developed a professional development plan where we instituted the three reads with our students. And that involved teachers learning about the three reads process, also problem solving skills, reasoning skills to not just understand how to teach problem solving, but why we teach problems, how math works in real world situations. So that students were able to apply what they're learning and become true

186lifelong learners and informed citizens. And so we had a plan, multi-year plan that went through. We started the first year with people who were really interested in making that change. And we had some money available so we could offer stipens for evening and and work to get the content and apply within the class. And then we did a kind of an openhouse museum like walk where teachers and students came through and saw problem solving that happened. And with that we got some more interest from the teachers. And the next year we embedded that into the schedule so that all teachers were learning about problem solving, making sure that we're hitting the higher levels of cognition in our instruction and that students are truly learning problem solving skills. And so what we started seeing is that

187students were able to read in had a better understanding of math and most importantly they could un they could explain their thinking and have dialogue with partner about comparing and contrasting ideas or having a true effective discourse which is you know one of the struggles if as a site principal and you're evaluating teachers there's discourse which is turn and talk to your neighbor. But we were getting real productive discourse where students were talking about the work of their fellow students and critiquing it. I like how you did that, but I wonder blank or I agree with you because I was able to do XYZ. And so those skills were taught directly through that type of professional development. We taught the skills and then the teachers took the time to actually do lesson study where a

188group of third grade teachers would come together and they planned a lesson based on the Nevada academic content standards and one of those teachers would teach it and then we had subs in place so that the other teachers could come and observe, watch what the students were doing, watch what the teacher was doing and then we would debrief. We would talk about the successes and the areas of growth from there and the other teacher would try it. And so we were working at perfecting these practices. That's innovative because people don't have a chance to do that unless you really go out of your way to make that happen. One of the biggest reasons we didn't have a lot of substitute teachers, a lot of planning and preparation just to make sure we had the coverage

189so that those teachers could get into colleagues room and and so it was a positive change. Students were able to problem solve. They understood me. Stakeholder stakeholders identified special education and MTSS as critical areas of expertise. Share a specific example of how you have led implementation or improvement of MTSS in services for students with disabilities, including the data you tracked, how you supported principles and teachers, and the outcome you achieved. I think that MTSS is one of those terms that's evolved. And so it started as um positive behavior interventions and supports. And so as a site principal, we implemented that in our schools. So we had clear expectations and a rubric that students followed. We had them posted around the building. We would talk to students and that was the baseline for all of our

190behavior discussions positively and when we needed to change behaviors. As that started to shift, what we saw was that was helping the majority of students, but there was still a large chunk of students who needed additional resources and help. And so then we started having student study teams in which students these would be your tier 2 students students that really weren't result weren't having a positive effect from the PBIS system and we would bring in the family we bring in the counselor administrator teachers uh anybody who knew the student collab sometimes we'd collaborate with their counselor their doctor and we would talk about what we're seeing what's happening at home, what's happening at school. Student was part of the conversation whenever possible and they would explain what they're experiencing at school, what their struggles are.

191And so then from that the team up the team would come up with specific action steps, parents will, school will, student will. And so we would put that as a baseline for kind of setting charting the behaviors, the first steps. And then we would have mentor teachers work with or case managers work with the teacher and student and put whatever it is. Sometimes it was behavior concerns, sometimes it was academic, but we would put the intervention in place and track progress. And if they weren't making progress, then you went back and you changed that intervention, tracked progress. And so we did that several weeks and that's when we determined if for more times than not students would positively react to the intervention and then we would start to fade support. If they weren't responding then

192you would go on to the student study team which is the RTI process. Sometimes people will call that an eligibility meeting where you go through you have additional testing from the school psychologist and look at that special education referral process. I think it's really important to say that when it comes to MTSS, when it comes to special education, no two cases are alike. Students are unique. they have unique concerns that need to be addressed. And so that's why when you look at special education, it's so important the team determination, that team of educators, parents, support staff that know that child and what they're capable of make any decision to determine whether or not initial resources are needed. And so I'd say hard to say what specific data because in each of those student study teams

193there were different data sets that were agreed to and those were collected and analyzed. And so I think that's what's most important have to be individualized. We just made plan and said everybody's going to look for these. This is the data we're going to collect. it wouldn't necessarily meet the needs of all students. So that's what was important is that we worked as a team identified strengths weaknesses area of growth that goal specific eight student safety behavior and bullying are top concerns expressed in a recent community survey. Describe your approach to student discipline and school safety, including how you balance clear expectations and consequences with restorative practices and social emotional supports and how you would engage families when serious incidents occur. I >> think student safety has to be number one because students aren't safe,

194they're not going to learn. We know that when it comes to student discipline, this gets a little bit controversial because one of the challenges we have as a school district is that we're required to follow the laws. We have specific laws which dictate the way behavior is addressed at certain levels. And so we are required to be restorative and positive in nature with our behavior. And so just like the MTSS process we talked about before, you have to figure out what's happening with that child. I think that the misnomer is that it's okay for a child to be unsafe at school and disrupt learning. And that's why we have reset rooms. That's why we have, you know, school mental health professionals in place because when that's happening, we need to address that behavior in meeting.

195Nobody should be allowed to be unsafe in this. But once we get through that process, get that child regulated, we have to start getting to the bottom and we have to figure out why is this happening, especially with our youngest children. A lot of times these kids come in and in kindergarten and first grade you spend a lot of time with kids with some real extreme behaviors. And what it usually comes down to is that's a communication method. It might be what's happened at home. Might be trauma that they've experienced and they don't know how to verbalize because they don't have those skills. And so you have to do the homework. You have to work with the student. You have to work with the family when they're at the table and sometimes you have to

196pull the family to the table. There's times that I've had to be pretty insistent with families that no, we need to meet. This is your child. We have an obligation to deal with this behavior issue that's disrupting the learning for others. Students are not safe. We're going to have to come together. And more times than not, as a principal, you call a kid or call a parent, they're going to come in with their child. There's other times we've had to ask for support from DPS or school resource officers, but ultimately parents have to be part of the process. And as a team, you start to look at why why is the behavior happening? How do we address the behavior? So you have clear expectations and consequences and sometimes you feel like you're having repeated conversations

197with child over and over again. One of the things that I know from experience with consistency with clear policies in place um progressive discipline plans that are followed fidelity and clear communication not only with the child but with their parents sometimes with the teachers. Things do improve. Doesn't happen overnight. takes time and effort to really get through this long process, but we're changing young children that need that support. So, I think that you address the important changes in the classroom. Somebody's throwing things around shutting down the learning. There has to be, you know, the administrators, reset room teachers. That's when they step in and get that child to a safe place, evacuate the other kids if they need to. situation resolved then we start working on the child. Question nine. Financial stability for any district

198is a clear priority. Please describe your experience with school or district budgeting and long-term capital or facilities planning and explain how you would build a multi-year financial plan that is transparent, student centered, and sustainable in a district our size. You know, it's really hard because so much of our budget is based on employment. So, I think the last figure I saw 87 to 93% of our budget was based on staffing. And so number one, working with schools, working with our community, maybe even a consultant, really looking at those trends for the population over the next 10 years. Carson City, we did that. We um partnered with a firm that really helped us get a projection. And so we were talking about potential enrollment decline for several years before we started start to happen because we

199were projecting based on what was happening with birth rates, housing, employment issues in the community. And so this is one that you look you work with partners in the community and then you start to look at what you have in your buildings because we know we're going to need to have x number of teachers to address the number of students we have. And so from there, if you think about 97 93%, that gives you about 7% to think about all the other things you're going to need to do. Paper, pencils, books, uh, transportation costs. So you start to talk with stakeholders, principles and set clear expectations based on goals of the district and set those priorities. You know, a lot of times you need to come up with these are the things that would be

200nice to have. Here's the things that we must have. And you start from the musthaves and you make sure that they're truly necessary items. make sure those are available in our schools and for our students. And from there, you project that out and keep your finger on the the pulse of what's happening. And struggle we have right now is that the legislature, I think they made an honest attempt to improve things for teachers and classified staff two sessions ago with um that bill to give teacher raises and we were able to give significant raises based on that. What happened in the next se next session gave a per pupil increase of about $2 per student. That didn't take into account step and column thaters get for experience and um educational credits. And when you look

201at that and then you couple it with the inflation we've been dealing with with the last several years, those raises are diminishing. We get to a situation where in the next session they don't renew those funds. It's going to feel like we're giving a paid decrease to employees. Even though it's very clear and it's been clearly communicated that these are funds given by the legislature for this specific purpose, when you're a family that already struggling to make ends meet, that's going to hurt. So, we have to be very cognizant of not just how we're supporting our employees, but how we're supporting them professionally in the building. as a teacher. I don't even know how I did it with what I made as a teacher. Spent a lot of money buying books, snacks, all kinds of

202things for the students in my classroom. I don't think people have as much flexibility with guns nowadays. I think things are very expensive and we need to make sure that our employees have basic items needed to fill their jobs. So, I think it's it's collaborative. We're going to have to do just like that budgeting process we went through. It's going to be an ongoing thing. We're going to start looking at our budget realities, and we're going to have to make projections, revise those projections, and we're going to have to talk to experts like Dave and ask his advice. We're going to have to talk to the legislature about finding ways to increase revenue, but we have to use what we have and we also have to manage that responsibly. Make sure that we have a

203manding fund balance. Can't go below that 4% otherwise we're going to be in a world of hurt. I mean, we don't want to be near that 4%. Question 10. Successful superintendents in Nevada must clarify roles and work effectively within a balanced governance model. How do you define the proper roles of the board and the superintendent? And what are two or three concrete practices you use to keep the board well informed, avoid surprises, and ensure that policy oversight and operations remain appropriately aligned? No, clearly the board is governing body. That's the policy. So, it's going to set what the district's priorities are. The superintendent's job is to say how that's going to happen. And that communication happens in a number of ways. And I've seen it happen in a number of ways where um one superintendent

204I worked with sent a weekly email that really highlighted a number of items of concern that the district experienced in the week each Friday. Um there's sometimes superintendent set up one-on-one meetings with trustees once a month or once a quarter. and some districts have where two trustees will meet with the superintendent or designate and go through items on the agenda. So I think that it's really working the superintendent is the CEO of the school board and so working together as a governance team really figuring out what style is going to best meet your needs as trustees. Everybody's a little bit different. Some people have worked during the day and they're not going to be able to come in and mute the superintendent and they would prefer to have that email. Other people are very flexible.

205They want to be in and having that conversation. So for me, I'm open to all forms of communication and really it would it would work on that collaboration. I think that also the superintendent has a job to make sure that the board is educated and informed of important things that are coming down the pike in education but also different things that you should know about. If as trustees you come and say like to know more about you know the ELA program then we need to get some way for you to learn about that ELA program whether it's an availability to go in and attend or to sit in and see what's happening in so the most important thing is superintendent should be treating the board as governing partners we should have open conversation to meet

206the needs of the district and then and I would say probably I think none of us like surprises and so when something does happen you make sure that you communicate that right away and the current practice would be if we have ambulance being called to a school you will assess the situation, talk with the principal, and then I'll make sure that we have Marina send a message to the board so that you know when you see an ambulance parked in front of a school or they calls and says what's happening at this school, you know, well issue that or whatnot. Can't always get specific with that type of information, but we could give you that general, you know, had a student call and we have ambulance on the way. So any s any emergency situation

207would be communicated immediately so that there were no surprises and anything that was was truly imperative would be an actual call between myself and the trustees. >> Okay. Question 11. Effective superintendent build and guide a strong district leadership team. How do you approach supervising principles and central office administrators to ensure alignment with district goals, clear accountability for results and ongoing professional growth? >> No, and this is going to be focus because we had we've had so much turnover in the office. Um I said that there were two professional development um things that are being pushed by the legislature which will start next year. Second of those is mandatory training for the NEPS. of the educator framework for evaluations. And what that's going to involve is all administrators and principles, all principal supervisors are going to

208have to receive training uh from on the also going to have a number of changes which are enhancing our current practices. So for instance this year when I started there were some questions about uh evaluations from the previous year. I started by meeting with all the principles and we had a training about the NEPF and provided the guidance from the state gave a hands-on training of those expectations and we also got into the tool uh for use for the evaluation our value wise and made sure that we knew how it worked and set clear goals with due dates that are prescribed in the law. What's going to change going forward is in addition to those provisions, they're also going to have to have for any underperforming administrator or teacher, there's going to have to be

209a plan pro performance improvement plan. You know, this has been a challenging year because the legislature made a lot of changes to education in the last session and state has slowly been rolling out that guidance and this is one of those pieces that we don't know exactly what it's going to look like. But with that performance improvement plan, it's going to be very specific to timelines and action steps that must be met by the administrator, followed by the employee. if they're they fail to make improvements and they're going to become probationary employees again. And so we have to go through that process to show that we've we have to document that, go through that process. That's going to be a huge training piece for our principal because they're going to have to be that. But

210then another thing that's going to go into effect is starting next July July 2020 there the assistant superintendent will have to audit 3% of all evaluations from every administrator in the district and those audits include interviews with supervisor the employee tracking of paperwork monitoring of that paperwork and to make sure each and every one of those pieces are followed and in compliance. From there, any observation that is found to not follow the process explicitly requires that the assistant superintendent then audit every single evaluation by that administrator, a corrective action plan in place. And so there's going to be quite a bit of work that's done on training with these new updates and uh state guidance which is just starting to come out now. And from there we're going to have it. So you'll have you'll

211go to the first session. There's going to be a month two months you're going to make sure you get all of your goal setting done and come together as a team and go through that goal setting. make sure that it's done, monitor it. And so you're going to do that with the entire process as you go through. It's not specific because it's not determined all the way what it's going to look like. I have a meeting next week to meet with RPDP and kind of get that um dialed in. So, we're going to set specific goals based on those expectations from the state and I'm going to be monitoring that and making sure that it's in place with our principles and being followed. Question 12. After three years, what will look and feel different in

212Churchill County School District? And how will students, staff, families, and the community know your leadership has made a meaningful difference? You know, in three years, we'll have aligned systems. I like I like to have systems lined up. We'll have clear procedures in place. I think that's one of the struggles that I've noticed since I've been here is that because there has been so much turnover, there are people that are learning their jobs, they just don't know what they don't know. And that's a struggle for schools because if they're not sure who to call because filling in for this position and they're tracking Daryl down and then having to get information, it just makes everything so much more cumbersome. And so we will certainly have streamlined and straightened out alignment of processes. It will be clear.

213We'll also have clear instructional objectives. We'll be seeing progress. It's I think with updating our curriculum tools, that's going to be huge. But what we're going to have to focus on in the short term is making sure that through our training on science of reading and allowing teachers and teams to go into that curriculum material and find the resources. One of the challenges we have is that with these programs, they literally have everything under the sun in them because they're designed to fit every need imaginable. They want to sell textbooks, which of course they do. And so we need to be able, our ELELLL teachers need to know where find those resources when we need to do intervention teams, our teachers need to know where to find those intervention pieces. And so we're going to

214have a better understanding of our curriculum, how to use it, and also our standards. And I think that we're also going to have open and clear community where we have engagement where, you know, we're talking about shared goals. The next superintendent is going to have to really dig in and look at the strategic plan and update that. When you look at that, it outdated as of I think the latest was 2022. Some of the things have goals of by 2019. So in Carson City, we spent a lot of time developing a strategic plan and working with stakeholders that consisted of, you know, bringing people together and getting their input about what's important and identifying those pillars that are priority for the community. From there, we would have monthly community forums. kind of started monthly and

215then it got to quarterly because they'll start drop off if it's too regular. Um, but in those quarterly meetings, what would happen is sometimes we'd have we'd start with a short information piece about services or something related to that. And then we would divide up into teams with the five pillars. And so if you're really interested in healthy communities, you went and met with the healthy communities and talked about the goals that have been established and data that should be collected for that. If you were focused on curriculum that matters, you would talk about the curriculum tools we had and how it's being implemented. And for attracting and retaining staff, that was a whole different conversation. And so we had people in the community that would come in and participate with us as trustees. There'd

216be administrators, teachers, and we would talk about those things. And then as a board, we would work with the superintendent. We developed that strategic plan that was observable. And that's what we've been working through. When I left the board, we are still in the process of revising to the newest version of that. And so I don't know if that's done quite yet, but it is truly a communityic plan that is driven by the needs of the community and what's best for kids. >> Okay, moving on to number 13. Before we move to our closing remarks, we want to give you an opportunity to ask any questions of us or share anything important that we have not covered. So, I think you know obviously I haven't really had an opportunity to talk to you all about

217your vision and you know one of the things that's going to be a challenge is Darald has been in this district a very long time and has relationships with a lot of people in the community. What are you looking for in a superintendent? And what are some of the things that you think would be important for the new superintendent to start focusing on right away? So, so I'm going to go with this. So, you're already here. You've been here for nine months. That would be starting immediately getting around, getting to know staff, getting to know the city, getting to know people, getting to know the board. I think that's as important right now as anything could be. I still think you're kind of an unknown person out there. So, I would like to see that

218then to set goals, have new goals, make sure we're achieving those and we're getting updated. I'd like to see a plan, something in writing you plan on doing, and then bring it to the board to see where your progress is on that. That'd be my particular ones. Anything else you need or share? Oh, I think I'm fairly familiar with what's going on. So, but that is one thing that is important to know is looking at a position like this. Okay, with that, thank you for your time, your thoughtful responses, and your interest in serving students, staff, and families of Churchill County School District. On behalf of the board of trustees, we appreciate the preparation and reflection you have brought to this process. This concludes our formal questions for today. Once all interviews are completed, the

219board will move in deliberation process. We will communicate the next steps to all finalists once that work is complete. Again, thank you. You Learn, right? Good afternoon. Welcome. We appreciate your interest in serving as the next superintendent of Churchill County School District and thank you for taking the time with us today. The final interview is scheduled for 1 hour. to honor your your time and allow each board member the opportunity to ask questions. We will move through our questions in an organized manner and may gently massage time as needed so we can hear your response on all key topics. It will be timed. You'll get updated on time if you're on question three and still have long ways to go. We will start with Trusty Bulock on the first question. >> Okay. What is it

220about Churchill County School District and the Fallon community that compels you to seek this role? And how do your prior experiences in rural or small district settings prepare you to lead effectively here over the long term? >> Thank you, Blake Cooper. For the record, um Palen means a lot to me. I have deep roots in this community um with family history. Have three children in this community in our school district. Um and education is a major part of my life. So this is an opportunity for me to serve our community in a greater fashion um in what I love which is education. Um I have a lot of relationships with people in in this community already. Um yesterday was a lot of fun seeing people out and about. um teachers I have relationships with and

221connections with as well as a lot of students. Um I do a lot of youth coaching around town and and I probably saw 50 kids I knew minimum. Um and that was pretty neat. So uh I'd like to continue that um in some fashion in some way and I will um either way whether I'm lucky enough to get this role or not. Um the last two principal roles that I've had have been in rural uh towns in Lion County School District uh both in Yarrington and Fernley. And uh those experiences have taught me a lot about small town um connections about how close-knit those communities are as well as Churchill um and how much it means to to build relationships with each other and work together as a team. So >> all right, the role

222of superintendent is demanding especially in a small community where you are always on. How would you describe your leadership style including your strengths and growth areas? And what personal strategies do you use to remain effective, resilient, and open to feedback while modeling balance for your team? Yes. A good example of of being on all the time um that I had experience with was at Urington Elementary. Uh smaller community than Fallon and you have a lot of side conversations in the grocery stores. Um at the basketball court, wrestling mat, um at any community event, people are stopping you trying to ask you a workrelated item. And uh that's fun. It's an an opportunity to build a relationship, gain a little bit of perspective with another person, um, and listen, um, because we have a lot of

223people in our community here that have a lot to say. And, uh, that would be an opportunity I'd look forward to, um, of always being on. I learned early on in this role as being a leader that the cameras and the lights are on all the time. That's how I live my life. Um, I'm ready to speak to anyone at any time. Uh my leadership style um it used to be a servant leader. It still is, but I've really refined that over the years, I would say. And I'm more of a a collaborative leader, I would say, and a visionary leader now. Uh because I know that's what creates success in organizations. uh when we have vision and belief in what we're doing and we strive for excellence um and we have relationships with the

224people we're working with and teamwork and we have the systems to support those other two items uh we can have success and my leadership style has been morphing over the years as I've learned more and more and I continue to learn um my strengths uh would be uh definitely visible collaborative um humble. I'm a very humble person. Um I admit when I'm wrong, I I admit when I don't know the answer and I seek out, uh to the right people to find out those answers. So um a growth area would obviously be I haven't been a superintendent clearly. So there would be a lot of learning uh that I feel confident in doing um because I feel I have the the skill set to do so. um with the mentorship of some of the relationships

225I have with other superintendents um people like Keith Lewis and his group um all the incredible people in our district I I feel strongly I I can do the job. So uh that that would probably be a growth area for me and um reflective is a constant process. I think of reflection and education as a constant cycle. Whether we're teaching, we're principal, we're district office person, we're a board member. Um that has to be a part of our process so that we can refine what we're doing and improve. Uh there's new research that comes out all the time about what works and what kind of impact it has on students and on organizations and um we have to do that. Obviously, I would gain a lot of reflection opportunities through the evaluation um from the

226school board. Uh stakeholder surveys, things of that nature and resiliency um is something I've been striving to to build thicker skin over the years. Um dealt with some pretty hefty extreme situations as a principal, believe it or not. um that have helped me grow that thick skin and resiliency. Um but I I'm a model of reflection in my opinion. Um and um the teams I've worked with would would tell you that. Thank you. >> Question three. A successful superintendent is one who is visible, approachable, and present in schools and the community. In your first 6 to 12 months, what specific actions will you take to become a trusted visible ambassador for the district with staff, families, students, the tribe, Fallon, NAS partners, and local government? >> Um, a lot of listening and a lot of

227conversations within that first 6 to 12 months, uh, would be a a large part of what I would be doing. um a lot of relationship building with with the current school board. Um I feel like I I've started that process already with a few of you, not all of you. Um but when we talk about visibility, I really think purposeful visibility is very important. Um, so a good example is what our district office and superintendent does in Lion County where they have uh weekly walkthroughs of schools and um there's a purpose behind it whether they're with um finance and when we're speaking about budgetary items or we're looking at curriculum and instruction best practices, there's always some type of focus. Um, I also think structuring it in a way where we're seeing every teacher at

228some point and and every kid in every classroom is is really important. Um, I I would need my team to help me a little bit with some visibility because as a superintendent, your schedule gets extremely booked. It's easy to just sit at the desk and do the work. So, um, I was talking to a few people yesterday about, uh, you'd have to put it in my calendar from time to time and I would be there. Um and and that's what I have to do currently too. Um so first six to 12 months a lot of conversations with our community members, city, county, Lions Club, uh chamber of commerce. Um of course NAS love that we're a Purple Heart School District. So important to our our um community here. Of course our tribe. Um, we have

229policies around Title N and our tribal uh decision making in this school district. Clearly, it's essential to what we do. Um, we have population here in our town and they need to be recognized and listened to. Um, so that's what I would do the first six or 12 months. >> Welcome. >> Question four. I like your and thanks for spending part of your stay with us. I believe your name. >> Okay. Staff recruitment and retention emerged as one of the highest priorities for the next superintendent. Describe your philosophy and concrete strategies for improving retention, morale, and a positive working environment, especially in a small rural labor market where neighboring districts may offer competing compensation. >> Really important to what we're doing right now. Um, I look at it in a kind of a few bullet

230points. Um, number one, we have to be competitive. And in order to do so, we have to be fisc fiscally smart so that we have the the financial situation to be competitive with neighboring school districts. Um, that's definitely a huge piece. Uh number two for me uh the kind of the second bullet point is creating a sense of belonging and trust relationships within uh our community of of Churchill County School District. Um if if our district office uh and school board are in a good place working together, our principles are going to be in a good place. And if they're in a good spot, teachers are going to be a good spot and students are going to be in good spot and families are going to be in good spot. And that's why I live

231in this community is the sense of belonging, uh, close-knit nature that we have. And, um, if we can get people to this beautiful town, um, I truly believe that they'll stay. We have an some incredible people working here, um, and some incredible families. Uh, so number two for me is the the relationships and and that whole piece. Um, obviously in speaking with Cameron yesterday and HR, uh, we've been implementing a lot of strategies with social media and and websites, uh, that have been, uh, working as far as visits go with people reaching and and and seeing those posts. Um, but the work's not done. Uh, it has to be a continued effort. Uh, it's a lot of word of mouth, too. Um, I talked to quite a few teachers yesterday that commute from from outside

232communities. Uh, the reason why is because they've had one-to-one conversations with individuals. Um, and this is kind of a larger item, but we have to advocate on the legislature level on the higher level um for more per people funding so that we have the financial situation to be competitive in the future. So the constant effort, >> right? Question five. Academic achievement, especially in ELA and math, is an area of focus for the district. walk us through how you would diagnose our current performance, set a limited number of clear instructional priorities, and organize principles, teacher leaders, and central office staff to deliver measurable gains over the next three years. >> Question. Yeah, my bulk of my experience has been um in elementary education kind of the K6 world and um you see the importance for reading

233and math fluency and um especially after co it's been a struggle um it seems like more students are below the 40th percentile than above now. So uh step one is to dive into the data and do a deep analysis of where we are currently. I know it's uh goal number five um that we have and six with the guard rail. So, it's extremely important to what we do, but there are so many systematic steps that you have to take when you're looking at reading and math and where we're at in achievement because with what the data is telling you that you then have to use the reflection cycle to then look at what curriculum is being used. Are they staying uh are they using it to fidelity? Is it with validity and fidelity? um are

234they using tier one best practices as well as the curriculum because we can't just teach from a curriculum and expect results. Um not only that, but we have to look at what um what the interventions look like. Uh do we have researchbased interventions in our school district? Does it meet uh the science of reading? Um, obviously with SB460, um, that's going to be a huge piece to this school district is getting all of our teachers trained in the science of reading. Um, because we know that what works based on research and brain research. I'm currently, um, in letters training for administrators to try to be a model and learn as much as I can about the science of reading. Um, and that's what all of our educators will have to do shortly. So, uh, those

235are the pieces we have to look at. Um, we have to do constant monitoring and checks into what we're doing. Um, is it working, is it not working, and why? We have to dig into demographic data, um, grade level data and get very fine-tuned with that that um analysis that we're doing. So, uh, from there, you then create concrete next steps and goals and priorities. um that we sat with the board um based on that data and then we talked about is what we're using in our school district appropriate to meet the needs of students or is it not? Um it's not just about numbers though. Our students are not numbers and we must listen to our students and we must listen to our incredible staff members about what they're noticing um with what they're

236using and what they're doing. um and are we giving them the correct professional development and is that in a systematic way um and that's the process that I would follow um and use those incredible teacher leaders and principles uh to do that work in leadership meetings that happen monthly um to then filter down um to the students. Question six. Education evolves continually and effective leaders find innovative solutions to persistent challenges. Describe a specific example where you championed academic innovation such as compet competencybased learning, a new instructional model, or a creative approach to improve student outcomes. how you built staff and community support for the change and what measurable results you observed. Uh one example that I'm really proud of uh I think it was about six years ago at Yarrington Elementary uh was a research

237project that I was a part of as a principal with the University of Nevada Reno and WEDA which is the English language learner consortium and what we used to test our English language learners. So it was a partnership um that we we did together um and with FOS the science curriculum that we were using at the time and the whole purpose behind it was to uh build academic extended discourse as well as make sure we are giving students opportunities of activity before content so that we're building background knowledge in our students before we throw a vocabulary word at them. Right? So they have to have something to pull from in their brain or that learning is going to be in and out. It's not going to stick. Um so we had a structured professional development

238for a year and a half with our staff very systematic a lot of help from the University of Nevada Reno and WEDA and everything that we did. And believe it or not, what we see we saw uh our English language learner test scores go up. um and it was the highest in the school district. That taught me a couple things. Um one, we have a system in place and we have a a clear belief and focus and we are sticking to our plan and we're doing what we say we're doing. We can see some success. Um and I'm doing that currently. It's not innovative, I guess, but um we're really having a strong focus at my school right now. um around our PLC's and our our DA data analysis informative uh common assessments as well

239as our IR assessments that we take three times a year and um everything that we do ties back to um the numbers and how our students are doing, what interventions they may need. And um we have a data wall in our school now. We call it a scoreboard. Um we don't get stuck on the lag data. we get we then talk about what are our next steps, what do we now need to do, what where are we going and um again we have some of the best test scores in the school district now. Um so again it it's just taught me belief, vision, relationships with my staff, trust and follow the system. Um for the previous example, we had to communicate a lot with the community that we were doing a research project because of

240course um they needed to know what we were doing in the school and um also it was a research project. So some of that data needed to be used uh for the University of Nevada and WEDA. Uh but those are two things that are popping out in my mind right now. Okay, question seven. Stakeholders identified special education and NTSS as critical areas of expertise. Share a specific example of how you have led implementation or improvement of NTSS and service services for students with disabilities, including the data you tracked, how you supported principles and teachers, and the outcome you achieved. >> Absolutely. Um, I've been working It was RTI when I started in education about 20 years ago. Uh the response to intervention and then that morphed into multi-tered systems of support. Um and it it's

241something that you refine constantly in schools is not something that that you ever have down um because there are so many working parts to multi-tered systems of support. And I break it down, of course, into academic and behavioral. So on the academic side of things, um we have to have a really really strong focus on tier one instruction. Uh because we can't I always say we can't out intervention our way out of a hole, right? We we can't close gaps with interventions solely. We have to have strong tier one teaching best practices happening in classrooms. Uh so that's been a focus um over the years, but also what are the interventions we have available to us and I I'm big into using uh what is researchbased uh on the academic side of things. Um and

242we've filtered through some different reading curriculums that that um have been in that tier 2 tier three realm um as that's ever changing. But the MTSS process, you're collecting in the academic side, higher ready data. You're collecting progress man monitoring data, whether that's running records for reading, um, or reading fluency rates. Um, it's a constant work that we're doing. Math fluency rates is another piece. Um, and then of course, ESPback scores are looked at. um they're after the fact next year and it's lag data so it it's hard to to drive any change with that data but um the data we can is our formative progress monitoring um on the behavioral side very complex uh so we do an SSRSI always get that acronym mixed up um but it's the first thing teachers do once

243they've gotten to know their te their kids a little bit and um They mark down indicators they're showing for external behaviors and internal behaviors. And based on that data, you then decide whether or not the student needs a check-in checkout uh with another coach staff member within the the school or do they need more of an intensive small group um by a counselor, by a social worker, someone of that nature. Um and all of that is data collection. Check and checkouts have scores. Um and all of it uh goes to the district. The district looks at it as a whole MTSS process and they look at how our schools are performing which is a key role of the superintendent as well. Uh so I I'm well verssed in MTSS and continuing to learn um as

244we all should. Um, I think I've shared quite a few examples on that end. And the goal for me always is if we have strong MTSS processes, the goal is not special education. So if a kid is not identified as special education yet and have an IEP, hopefully those MTSS processes are working, closing gaps or showing improvement, and we don't have to go down that road. Um, but the special education world means a lot to me. I have a special education endorsement and planned to teach that at one point and and obviously moved in another direction. Um uh my my sister-in-law's special needs um I when I was living in Reno long ago, I was a part of the Special Olympics community. Um I'm in IEPs daily. Uh it's extremely important from a district point

245of view that our IEPs are compliant, that what we're writing into them, we can actually implement in the schools. Um that they're feasible to do. Uh because um if we're not um then we're getting our ourselves in a tough spot there clearly. So um that's a focus I have in every IEP and what's best for the student. Thank you. How am I looking on time, Keith? >> Very good. Very good. >> All right. Question eight. Student safety, behavior, and bullying are top concerns expressed in a recent community survey. Describe your approach to student discipline and school safety, including how you bal balance clear expectations and consequences with restorative practices and social emotional supports and how you would engage families when serious incidents occur. Sure. I live it every day. Um, I'd say it's one of

246the most uh probably the greatest challenge that we're dealing with in classrooms right now. It was really fun to speak to principles and teachers about this piece yesterday. Um, so I'll talk about that a little bit here in just a second, but my philosophy with behavior is it's differentiated. So every student and every behavioral situation that occurs has a unique response um from that individual that's working with the student and and that consequence is unique to that situation as well. Um we do have progressive discipline plans and we follow progressive discipline plans but there is some flexibility in in how we um implement a restorative practice. Uh so as much as possible, we have to give a consequence and then a restorative practice that fits the bill, right? Um we can't just sit a kid

247in in school suspension anymore or send them home and um expect that the parents are going to then educate their students uh about what they did was right and wrong. That's not the world we live in anymore. Um, so it's a big big job that we have in schools now, um, that we haven't quite figured out yet. Um, because we're really all mental health workers in the schools today's day and age. Um and so I think professional development for our educators around um social emotional learning around how to respond to extreme behaviors, minor behaviors, having strong classroom management, how to have a one-on-one conversation with a student the proper way is really really important. Um, and then we have to have systems in our schools, which we do in Churchill, um, with the reset rooms

248and the restore at the door in the middle school. Um, and we have to continue to explore options like that. Thought great example of a classroom that worked in that reset room um, at Numa Elementary. Now, it depends on the teacher and it depends on the administrator. I learned um so you have to have the right mindset and um expertise in order to deal with extreme behaviors and students with disabilities. Um it doesn't just take any person. You have to have some training and um learning in that front. Um but uh social emotional uh curriculum and programs help um it has to be a part of what teachers teach every day. and you could be teaching a math lesson and then boom, something pops up and now all of a sudden you're going down a

249social emotional learning uh lesson. Um it's such an important part of what we do now and we have to support our whole school district and community um in doing so and look for creative ways to bring in more and more support uh from outside organizations. I was excited to see in Numa as well. I believe the um probation office is partnered with them um and some other schools where they're helping teach lessons. Um Nick Delgado I saw in the in the school the other day um and gosh he's a great example of a person to be in there teaching um that piece. So um engaging families with serious incidents an important part of what we do as well. Of course, that communication process starts as soon as we can um to make a phone call

250um to then loop them in of what's going on. Uh what the consequence may be, what the restorative practice may be, and how they can help us. Um if it's even more serious than that, then it's a a messaging that would go out to our whole school district if it was a really severe situation that we'd work with uh Caitlyn on, our uh public information officer. um to to have an ideal statement that we would put out. So um but relationships and communication is a big one on on this front with the families. >> Sorry, I didn't finish. >> Uh bullying. I just looked up and saw bullying. um bullying um reports come in daily and uh really important that we're updated on the current laws because the language just changed a year ago, right?

251So, um making sure we are giving the current language to our principles so that they can do the process the proper way. Uh we have templates that we use, determination worksheets, investigation worksheets that we use in Lan County. Um it's very structured. Um when we talk about systems, that's one that we have to make sure is on point. Um and all of that communication is redacted then to go out to the families um in the timeline that we have and um you follow the process. what you do as an administrator and administrators need to know what the process is and what that structure looks like. Um, you have to go over practice scenarios with your leadership team to make sure that we're all on the same page. So, thank you. >> Question nine. Financial stability

252for any district is a clear priority. Please describe your experience with school or district budgeting and long-term capital or facilities planning and explain how you would build a multi-year financial plan that is transparent, student centered and sustainable in the district our size. >> Absolutely. um very important again right now um with our per pupil funding being at where it is um and it's a big job as the superintendent in my opinion to go advocate uh for our Nevada schools and not just superintendents but we need as many people advocating for our kids as possible because if uh we don't have the money then we can't buy the programs we can't buy have the people in the classrooms we can't do all the things that we need to So, um that's a huge piece, but uh

253we have to engage our stakeholders whenever we can and of course that's a part of the policy as well as making sure it's tied back to our uh district goals and our vision of what we're doing. um everything should tie back to that um in every purchase that we make and um making sure it's sustainable. Trying to purchase uh things uh that are necessary and ordinary. Of course, that's actually a part of the law, too. But um what kind of programs can we implement that um have longevity um that we can use for the future so that we're not having to buy big ticket items year after year. Um but you know in talking to the um the fiscal department in Lion County, it's a constant process and um frequent communication um with the comp

254patroller, weekly meetings looking at every scenario possible of worst case to best case. Um making sure you're in tune with where the budget's at currently. Uh where our projections are. Um there are so many moving pieces in our world that you have to think of. The cost of fuel you wouldn't think has an impact on the district, but it does. Uh so there are so many layers to the the fiscal piece that you have to look at with each other. Um and constant meetings um and trying to make purchases that are sustainable for our district is very very important. Um so uh the financial plan um being transparent of course that's that's work that we do with the school board um and that's bely public and transparent and those conversations can happen prior to a

255schoolboard meeting as well um and again student centered uh tied back to our goals and objectives. Um so thank you Question 10. Successful superintendents in Nevada must clarify roles and work effectively with a balanced governance model. How do you define the proper roles of the board and the superintendent? And what are two or three concrete practices you use to keep the board well informed, avoid surprises, and ensure that policy, oversight, and operations remain appropriately aligned? You Um I I I look at the school board as kind of the what behind what we do in education. So um creating the vision um of course that's a collaborative process uh policy implementation and creation as well uh word smithing um budget approval um and then the superintendent the how um the operations how do we implement those

256those items that we're talking about how are we going to staff um in these different departments um obviously ly I I look at it as a team of eight. Um yes there are seven bosses but uh I like to be a collaborative person and we're a team of eight. So it's constant communication, text messages, phone calls, uh keeping the board apprised of what's going on. Um giving you the factual information that I have at hand. Um as much data driven decision- making we can all do uh the better. So, it's a constant work that we do together. Uh, Trusty McFaden, I I really liked your idea of a book club uh that we would do together so that we all are on the same page of what the open meeting laws are and what are

257our perspectives of some of that language. Um, that's not a bad thing to do. Um, especially with a new superintendent. Does it take a little bit of work for all of us? Yes, it does. Um, but is it important for us all to be on the same page? Absolutely. Um, a lot of those conversations can occur at at NASBY and conferences and and professional development sessions for us. Um, and that's a big piece of what we do, too. Um, and I look forward to that work with you all. Um, so that we understand each other and and our backgrounds and where we're coming from and uh we're on the same page as much as possible. And when we have that kind of relationship, we can have difficult conversations. We can disagree respectfully and think about

258uh what's best for our students and our staff in this community. >> All right. Question 11. Effective superintendent build and guide a strong district's leadership team. How do you approach supervising principles and central office administrators to ensure alignment with district goals, clear accountability for results and ongoing professional growth? So, um, cabinet meetings are are extremely important as well as leadership meetings and I don't know what we call them in Churchill County. Um I believe they're leadership meetings, but it's time where we get together once a month and um we have an aligned plan of what that professional development looks like that aligns with our goals that we have within our school district and um that aligns with the the school's performance plans as well in some way in some fashion. So number one is having

259a structured process where we're meeting together. Not only talk about concerns um that we may have or hot topic items that are popping up within the school district, within the community um but that we are using our time effectively and we are learning and growing together. Um, in Lion County, we've been doing a lot of tier one practice, uh, professional development within our leadership meetings, uh, which has been very valuable, uh, for me as a principal because it helps, um, me evaluate, uh, teacher the proper way in using NPF and, um, we can have those those really robust conversations together as educators. Um so um more than that again it's the the visibility um so it's not just having monthly meetings it's ensuring we're walking into classrooms we're walking into the offices and and we're

260having conversations with each other as much as possible open communication line always um central office is no different um and something that I did not hear is happening um is cabinet meetings um somewhat within this school district. I think there's uh separate meetings going on from what I heard and and the questions I was asking yesterday. Um but we're not getting everyone at the same table. Um and that should be happening weekly so that uh we don't have any miscommunication going on. Um and then some of that knowledge and information and our plan of what we're talking about then comes to the school board and now again we're on the same page. Um that's what I heard from people yesterday. Uh is communication, timely communication is extremely important to people and um that's something the

261superintendent must do. Um we have to hold each other accountable. I heard that um we need to follow through with what we're saying we're going to do. Um and not just say it. We need to make a decision and follow through. And then we need support and we need to support one another and have that consistency with the communication. I continued to hear that uh yesterday over and over again. Um so that just tells me having a structured process in place helps um with with making sure we're all meeting at the same table weekly uh to talk about what it whatever it is we need to talk about at that time. Um, and that helps align everyone to our goals and our objectives in the district. Question 12. After three years, what will look and

262feel different in Churchill County School District? And how will students, staff, families, and the community know your leadership has made a meaningful difference? I I would say a sense of belonging, um, positivity, positive culture, um, person that's from our home and and here to stay and um, trust, a lot of trust. Um, unfortunately I I heard a little bit of mistrust yesterday and that's going to be in an organization always. Um, but that's a huge piece for me. Um, are we creating a sense of belonging within our school district? Are we comfortable uh to speak to one another? Is it a positive culture? Saw a lot of positivity yesterday in my walkthroughs. Um I saw a lot of opportunity for students and uh especially at the high school that was the one thing I asked.

263They they asked what do you want to see and I said I want to see pathways. want to see what what opportunities do students have to gain interest in some career um and not just college, right? And I saw culinary, I saw uh digital creation and graphics and um auto mechanics, a mechanic work going on. Um creative studentled um opportunity is what I saw at the high school and that was really exciting for me. um because I'm one that graduated from Churchill County High School and um I didn't see much relevance in what I was doing. Were there some pathways available at that time? There were. Um I remember getting hooked into wood shopping a little bit, but I did not have anyone talking to me about, hey, um Blake, here is an opportunity for

264you. We see you are engaged in this this interest area. um have you thought about this career? Um and I would like to see that in three years um even strengthened more um and I want to see that filtered down uh all the way to kindergarten. Are we talking about interests and careers and um studentled opportunities kindergarten through 12th grade? Do we have project-based learning and relevant real world learning going on from kindergarten through 12th grade? That's a strength of mine is making sure we're integrating or connecting to something that's real world. And are we giving our students those opportunities? That would be success in my mind when I walk through schools and that's all I see. I see a connection already and it's a great opportunity we have in Fallon of high school working

265with elementary schools and there were high schoolers working in elementary schools which is super cool. Um but even more collaboration between the middle school and high school to prepare our students for those CTE pathways. Um which I I heard is they're pursuing already which is really really exciting. Um, but for me, when my own children go to school and they loved what they were doing throughout the day and they come home, that's success. And I have a a child right now that'll be in our school district for 10 more years. Um, so I have a lot of opportunity to see that growth. Um, moreover than that, of course, we want to see our test scores go up. Want to see our graduation rates as the best they can be. We want to see um all

266of that looking great, behavior rates going down, right? Attendance rates looking better. Um that's always a goal, but when we are engaging our students in interests that they care about, they're going to show up more, they're going to learn more. Um and that's always been my focus as a a leader in education. Okay, moving on to 13. Uh before we move to our closing remarks, I want to give you an opportunity to ask any questions of us or share anything important that we have you've not covered. Uh the first question I would ask is is there anything I have not explained about um my leadership uh my skill set uh that you'd like to learn more about um that you have not heard tonight? Do you have a do you have a plan for the

267first 90 days? >> Yes, sir. I was actually going to ask I know you have a lot in front of you already. Um but I have a folder for each of you. Um and it has uh a lot more than the three uh letters of recommendation that Keith asked for. There's a lot more than that. And then it also has a 30 60day entry plan. And a lot of what I talked about today is in that 30 60day entry plan and I made sure it was feasible and something that I could accomplish and it's really important for a superintendent within those first 30 60 days. Um so that's in the back of the folder. Um and then I also have a portfolio for you uh that I worked with a a teacher of mine on.

268Um it's a little cheesy. There's a lot of photos of me in there. Uh that was the teacher. Okay. I wasn't putting those in myself. So, um, and I turned 40 today. Uh, it's my birthday. So, if you look at me and you don't recognize me, it's I'm I'm getting a little older now. So, um, so I have a portfolio and then that 3060 playing in that folder for you. >> Thank you. >> Any other questions? >> If you don't have anything more to add, you're good. I would just like to uh thank you all uh for your continued work in our district. Uh what you do has a direct impact um and everyone that works in this uh county and it has an impact in our community. Uh we're in the people business and

269uh what you're doing is changing lives and creating human capital and that's ultimately what we're doing together. Uh, so thank you for your work and and finding the best person for the job. Um, as a community member, as a parent, I'm going to support that person, whoever it is, 100%. Um, because that's that's what you do. Um, I'd like to thank Mr. Parsons for his work the last few years as well. Um, and I'd like to thank Caitlyn for yesterday, uh, because she was a great host, um, and all the work that she's doing and all of the other staff members within our school district. And then I think, uh, Keith and his team have done a wonderful job throughout this process. They've been professional, organized, efficient, and it's, uh, been fun to be a

270part of. Um, I want nothing more than to be home and serve this community. Um, and once again, I have the skills that to do so. Um, just need to be given the opportunity. Um, I'm a people person and feel confident in the relationships I would build with you all as well as our staff members. Um, and I'm a systems thinker now. Um, I'm a resultsoriented person and we want to see positive change. Um, I'm here to do that. So, I have a lot of investment, a lot of investment and I appreciate you all. Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you for your time, your thoughtful responses, your interest in serving the students and staff Kirkfield County School District. We appreciate all you do for children. Thank you. Pull one out. So, I'll I'll real quickly

271go back through that. Then the rank order sheets that you had in which you were writing answers, there's a ruer scale from 1 to 10. That's not for us. That's just for you. Um, what we're going to be looking for is your sheet that just has the four candidates today. And we're going to ask you to rank them from one to four. one being your top candidate, four being your lowest candidate. When you conclude that, we're going to collect those and we're going to score them. It it's kind of runs opposite. If you rank them number one, they get four points. We'll then go to a break while we score those and when you return, we'll be able to go through those results. And what it'll do is it will give you a collective board

272rank order. No names are going to be assigned to it. So we're not going to say Katherine scored so so so. However, please be advised that it is subject to open records. So even though we're not going to report it as as such, it is subject to open records. And at that point, what it does is it allows us to take a look you as a board of trustees and if you have a very clear bottom one or two, you have that opportunity. Now, we can set those one or two aside and you narrow your discussion and then we're going to turn to you and the really hard part starts where is you're going to be asked to deliberate to have a conversation to go through one, two, three, four candidates, whatever you as a

273board choose and start to have that determination. If you have found a potential match to be your next superintendent, obviously at that point when you guys are ready, someone would need to make a motion, get a second and have a majority vote. Any questions for us before we proceed? >> I just have one quick one just for clarification. This is on everything we have feedback we got and paperwork, interviews, everything. your perception on them based upon the information you have. Again, excluding the folder that you just received. Okay. >> Okay. Yes, we do have another agenda item that Yeah. >> All right. So, what I need is this rank order and then while we're going to uh while we're scoring it, you would have an opportunity for a break under your direction, President Malovich. >>

274Okay. So, right now we will go into break and we will do our scoring and we'll hand that to Dave at some point before we come back. >> Bulock, do you have my paper? Okay. Yes. So during this break, is there food here? Do we know? Are we eating also? Are we taking like a 20 minute? Okay, let's let's do 20-minut break. That give us plenty of time to have a little bit of food and regroup. Store. Yes. Yeah. Yes. Okay. We're going break till we end our scoring in We're now on break. You guys ready? Okay. I'd like to call this meeting back to order. We will move on to 7B for discussion and possible action. The board of trustees will trustees will discuss and may take action to move the superintendent search forward

275including possibly narrowing down the number from five candidates selecting the candidate for hire from the candidates approve additional interviews or site visits take an action to open the position for further applications or taken other similar or related actions. That is me. Let's start with getting our scores. Oh, is that is it on? >> I'll take that back. Thank you. >> Oh, very quickly. Thanks for taking the time to go through today's interviews. I think you're in a unique position right now based upon your scoring. You have very clearly two front runners and two that are not cleared. So with that, let me give you your scores of your top two candidates. Natalie and Blake are tied at 23 points. Mike Walker received 13 points and Levi received 11 points. got a tie of between Natalie

276and Blake. Just in terms of looking at the overall number one ranking, Blake received four. Natalie received three. Have two very close candidates. There's obviously two that are not as close. So, at this point, it's an opportunity for you as a board to consider your four candidates. if you want to narrow it down to two or how you would like to proceed and turn that over to you president. >> I mean my quick gut based on scores is we just look at the top two that tied at the and debate those two. I don't see any reason to go with the bottom two. I don't necessarily think we have to make a motion to eliminate them. I think we just know that we're not going to talk about them. So I would be game to

277have somebody want to start and discuss the goods, bads, pluses, minuses between each candidate. >> This is going to happen all night, is it? Starting with me. >> I'll go for it. Um, if I'm looking at those two candidates, I've said it before and I will continue to say it again, I have huge concerns with hiring somebody who has no district experience whatsoever. Huge concerns that really um Blake has huge potential. Uh but I we're we're doing things. We are moving on the right path and I I recognize Natalie is not a local. I know that's uh important to people. Um, but she has and it's it's killing me that her district experience is in the charter world uh more so than in uh the K12 public which I would prefer. But her packet is

278impressive. The responses from the community were were impressive and even w even even with Blake who scored well with community responses. Several of them said, "We really like him, but we think he needs assistance. He needs some experience first." And that's uh that's that's where I am um with that. just just really concerned with no district experience. I felt Natalie was concise. She had clarity about some of the things we're doing. She was very observant when she was in the schools. She learned quickly what was happening in Churchill County School District without ever ever having been here before and was very astute in her responses to that. um she was positive about that and uh so those are just some of my thoughts to begin with. Um I would echo what Trustee Whitaker had to

279say and I felt uh very much the the same way. Although I would I would add that it's definitely impressive for Mr. Cooper to be among a group of candidates all whom have district experience uh and and he did not but yet he's still one of our top two front runners and I think that speaks to his uh dedication and and commitment and things like that and and again a lot of potential there and um have similar concerns to Katherine in that regard. Um, one other thing that I would point out, I mean, as far as, you know, my rankings and things go or looking at these candidates really fell in line with um the uh feedback from uh community and staff and uh I again there was a lot of really positive na Natalie

280was the front runner um by a small margin there. um and seems very well received by community and staff. And I also wanted to bring up that how much I appreciated how direct her response was to question 12 about after 3 years, what will look and feel different in Churchill County School District and how will students, staff, families, and the community know your leadership has made a meaningful difference? And tonight of of all the responses given, hers were extremely direct, specific, and related to the goals that this district has set. And to the degree that she is setting a standard and holding herself accountable for achieving those goals. Um, I mean, specific like all schools, three stars and higher, improvements and average daily attendance at 95. She was specific. She didn't just say like, "Oh

281yeah, we hope to have this or we hope to do this." It's, you know, it wasn't just general. She made very bold statements with confidence. And that was something that really was impressive to me and spoke to not only her doing her homework of familiarity about our district, but um that she kind of means business. She understands we're serious about moving the needle in these areas and she's setting very specific goals and giving specific examples there. >> Let's go next. >> Do it. I'll go next. Um I also had Natalie as my number one and I just feel the same. I don't as um trusty Whitaker and trusty grow as far as her experience is what this entire process all of these months now is something that I have been saying to myself that was

282important to me was that we need someone with experience to put in this position so that we don't take two steps back. Um, and I also appreciated one of the things that I jotted down about her was when she was asked about her three years was that she said that her goal within 3 years would be to be three stars or higher within three years for those schools that were lower than that and ACT um daily attendant at 95% or higher, which is something that we talk about at every single meeting. And so those things that she took the time to research those was important to me. This was hard. And she did I mean Natalie was my two. She had great goals and it's easy to say that but who doesn't want those things?

283I mean just because Blake didn't say that I mean I think we all want that. I think all four of them probably want 95% our attendance, our graduation. Um Blake the last round was in our top two. I mean Blake and it's been three years. So I think he's probably matured and I feel like he's teachable and coachable and could kind of mold to what we want going forward. And charter and public are two different animals. I think it's almost apples and oranges. So to say she's great in a charter and then coming over to public might be a transition. I' I've struggled with the the same thoughts that Trusty Whitaker has has voiced. However, um with this with that being said, I guess we're looking for uh longevity. We're looking for consistency in our

284district. Um, I do lean a little bit more toward Blake. He was he was my one. Um, for the same reasons as well, like that Trusty Ghetto said, like we can we can help mold him into it. Um, they I do know that superintendents get uh mentors. So, I do I feel like he would get a mentor that's already been a superintendent that could that could also help guide him. Um, or at least that's what I've been told anyway. I've been t I've talked to a couple other superintendents in in Nevada. Um, but I also like that he is he's young and he is a lot closer in age to the students and the generation of students that we have today are very different than the generations that we were raised in. Um, and so

285I just think that the idea of of being able to understand and relate to the what our kids are needing today, I feel like he's got he'll have a good grasp on that. So for me that's those were a couple big things and he might not even said that. I just have observed that with him. >> Um but we we heard a lot of words tonight. We heard a lot of ideas. We heard a lot of speeches. Want to hear um Natalie was my number two. Blake was my number one. At first learning that she was a teacher was game changer for me because our our community feedback and surveys being in the classroom was important having that experience. So that that gave her a few few more tick marks and in my scoring. Um

286I I would like to echo also being a superintendent is a job unlike any others. Um, in my conversations with Darald, even his district office experience didn't prepare him for his job. I fully believe Blake is ambitious enough, trained in, coachable, and has the resources to lean on the the job justice that it needs. So, so I looked at Natalie in Las Vegas to Fallon worries me a little charter to public that worries me a lot. Um, I think Blake is coachable. I think modern HR, tell me if I'm making this up. Didn't you guys have something about you would help candidate coming in with a plan of attack? Yes, we will help facilitate the goal process with the board. Uh we we uh in our contract we'll be checking in with them a couple

287times. So not nearly as consistently as uh just to be clear on that that but we are checking in. We're checking in with the board. We're checking in with your candidate as well. >> Thank you. >> I also really like the fact that he has students in the school system. I think it's kind of nice to have a superintendent that could it's it's personal to them. If something's going wrong in the school with bullying, whatever it is, if you have a student in the school, you're probably going to be a little more quick on this. You'd hope that isn't true, but it's going to happen. It's your protection. That's all I have. I would also just like to point out not all of us were here the last time we through this circus. Um, watching

288Blake's interview tonight two years ago was night and day different. I truly believe there was extreme growth and answers. I don't know if anyone's considered because he is unknown that we won't keep all of our staff here as a support for him that that's a possibility that we'll lose staff local potentially. Yes. I think there's always a lot of threats to that, but I think when the payche pay paycheck doesn't come, that changes my opinion. Anybody else have any further they want to add? We either at a point to move forward or give some more words and we have heard a lot of words already tonight. Actually, you want to you want to do that before we make a motion? You want to hear from some of the people that have been here all night?

289>> Sure. >> Okay. Anybody in the public have any great input for us? Please state your name for the record. Sorry. In review of our application, that was one concern that Mr. Malovich mentioned was um we trying to take a person that's from a completely different environment from legacy charter to a public in the rural. I'm just that's a concern that I have personally. The the candidate that I was really pleased with tonight was Blake Cooper. I thought that he gave great straightforward answers with you guys. I think that he was humble. I was really impressed how he said when I'm wrong, I like to admit I'm wrong and I like to find solution. The other thing I really liked about his interview was uh that was talking every time that he went in in

290student achievement, talked about it from an individual standpoint and he also talked about it from the principal and how in order to to make that that student achievement happen, you have to have the principal working toward that. And I thought that that was huge for me, especially with my background. Um, I think that that something that needs to also be brought up is Blake has his kids go to school in F. He loves his school district, graduated from the Been involved with coaching several sports, football, basketball, and baseball. So, um, that's why I'm laying that way. My two sons. Thank you. >> You anybody else? Never sat at this table. Sat up there a lot. This one's way better. Um I'm not going to uh Matt height for the record. I've never sat at this

291table. Um I'm not going to tell you um who I favor. Um the only thing I'm going to tell you is I was involved in this process. It's a very strange process in the state. I commend you all for your service. Difficult process, but you guys are sitting in those seats for a reason. This is your decision. This is a big decision. I've always said that the school district is the hub of any community. Rest of us are cogs off of that wheel. Um, I will tell you that from the the interview that we had last like there has been a lot of growth. That's evident. Um, you guys have a tough decision for my two top two as well. Um, but you're trusted and that's why you fit in those seats. The only thing

292that I ask I'll support whoever is chosen. I'll support your decision. Only thing that I ask I I feel like this may be may come to a split vote. If that does happen, I just hope and pray that you will support whoever is chosen and I know you will because I know most of your integrity and willing to do so. So, whoever is chosen, just hope that you get behind them because that's the only way they're going to be successful is if everybody gets behind and and and and make them a team member, your team. So, that's all I really have to say. And I just really appreciate the seats fit in adding it. I have a little different perspective than some of these folks. It's a very difficult decision. I hope that um you

293walk away from this knowing that you can't speak for everybody, but you have my trust. I'll support you whatever you decide in any way that I can. Again, I appreciate you. Thank you. >> Thank you. Any other public comment board? It's right back on us. I make a motion for Blake Cooper as superintendent. >> Motion by Trusty McFaden, a second by Trusty Blakey. There any more board or public comment? The motion, we might want to consider the the nature of the motion. In other words, uh a motion to direct the uh president and the attorney to negotiate with the individual you select and to bring a contract back would be a more would identify fully what you're what you're doing. Uh you still have to make the offer. They still have to accept. So, I

294would recommend that the motion be uh maybe withdrawn and restated uh giving us authority for the president and the attorney to negotiate with the whoever it is you choose and to come back with a contract. >> Okay. Thank you. >> And with the involvement of your consultants, >> can I make it easy and amend my motion as so stated? That works. >> It's perfect. Right. Let's do it. >> Okay. So, then we have a motion. We have a second. No more comment. Okay. I'll call for a vote. All in favor? Blake Cooper, please raise your hand. We have 423. You got him. That it passes 4 to three. Okay. Perfect. So, uh, we are entering into negotiations and I'm hoping, like Matt Hyde said, I'm hoping the whole board can be supportive of who was

295selected tonight and we move forward in the right direction and give all the help we can work with modern educator. That I will move on to public comment. Members of the public who speak as to state their name for the record and will be limited to a uniform number of minutes. Board members may respond briefly to public comment but cannot deliberate on matters that are not listed on the agenda. Is there any more public comment tonight? Seeing none, this meeting is adjourned. Thank you very much. Thanks board. That's tough work. Good job.