Lyon superintendent named president of state association

With a growing emphasis on education reform across Nevada, the state's superintendents elected new officers to lead the Nevada Association of School Superintendents for the 2011-2012 school year.

Nevada's 17 superintendents, who make up the association, selected Lyon County's Caroline McIntosh as president. Washoe County's Heath Morrison was voted in as president-elect, and Elko County's Jeff Zander was chosen as secretary/treasurer.

McIntosh said she is looking forward to the upcoming year.

"The 2011-2012 goal of the Nevada Association of School Superintendents is to continue to improve Nevada's public education system for all students through the reform initiatives in Nevada's Promise: Excellence, Rigor and Equity," she said. "(The association) is committed to preparing Nevada's most precious resource - our children."

McIntosh was selected as the Lyon County School District superintendent in 2008.

She and the Lyon County School District Board of Trustees received the 2009 Local Governance Team of the Year award from the Nevada Association of School Boards for leading an effort to improve board leadership and governance skills, as well as academic and extracurricular programs in Lyon County.

A University of Nevada graduate, McIntosh began her career in education in 1994 with the White Pine County School District as a special-education aide and kindergarten teacher.

Churchill County School District Superintendent Carolyn Ross congratulated McIntosh on the new position.

"Caroline has demonstrated she has the knowledge, skill and will to continue to move us forward," Ross said. "I am looking forward to continuing our work together."

During the election of the new officers, association members also thanked and honored outgoing president Dr. Rob Roberts. The Nye County School District superintendent holds several titles for his leadership, including the Nevada Association of School Board's 2004 Superintendent of the Year.

He was also selected as the Nevada Superintendent of the Year in 2008.

"Rob is a tremendous advocate for education and Nevada's children," Morrison said. "During the 2011 Nevada Legislature, Rob spent a great amount of time in Carson City engaging lawmakers in conversations about our state's education system. He was a great leader for all of us during those times and his passion for children and their future shone through."

As president-elect, Morrison will become the president when McIntosh's term is over in the summer of 2012. Morrison moved from Maryland to Nevada in 2009 when he accepted the superintendent position in the Washoe County School District.

Zander is a native Nevadan who has worked with the Elko County School District since 1988. He held several positions within the school district before being hired as the superintendent in 2010.

Gov. Brian Sandoval congratulated the new officers and said he looks forward to working with them.

"Our state's school superintendents are critically important in helping the state implement our reform agenda as recently enacted," Sandoval said. "Our superintendents will be particularly valuable to the realization of the new educator evaluation system and planning for pay for performance in the future."