A new era begins this week for the Churchill County School District. Sandra Sheldon left her superintendent’s position in Washington state to tackle a new challenge: To be the educational leader of a school district that is trying to regain favor with Churchill County residents, and especially among the taxpayers who want to see the best for future generations.
In our meetings with Sheldon, we feel the Board of Trustees picked the right person last spring to guide the CCSD and continue with the positive direction interim Superintendent Bus Scharmann ushered in during the 2012-2013 year.
She’s energetic and has a vision for the future. She wants to restore confidence in the school district, something Scharmann began on his first day when he accepted the School Board’s offer to be a bridge between Carolyn Ross, who abruptly resigned in late June 2012 to the hiring of Sheldon almost one year later. Sheldon inherits a good school district with dedicated educators who continually push for excellence in their classrooms. The district also excels above the rest of the state in many educational categories, which was proven three years ago by the LVN, after a national report came out with low marks for Nevada.
One of Sheldon’s goals is to improve the school district’s image within the community, an area that took a major hit during the Ross years when both sides — the superintendent and trustees — were at odds with each other, and their differences played out at meeting after meeting, sometimes until 2 a.m.
How can the school district let the community know of its success stories beginning with this school year?
As we have offered to previous administrations, the LVN will provide the school district a forum each month for either Sheldon and/or her principals and directors to tell the community about the good things that are happening in the school district. Educational instruction continues to change, and many residents in the community are interested in seeing how their dollars are spent and what successes are occurring.
Building principals and their staffs have the means to provide photos, stories and/or ideas to the LVN. That would include students of the month, honor rolls, unique or “of general interest” programs, guest speakers, etc. While building principals are the educational leaders of their respective schools, they are also marketing their schools’ accomplishments for all to see.
If schools have fundraisers, we encourage them to contact the LVN to place an announcement in the Community Bulletin Board.
We, too, have a strong interest in seeing both Sheldon and the school district succeed for the 2013-2014 year.
Editorials written by the LVN Editorial Board appear on Wednesdays.