South Sioux City Schools is conducting a final round of principal interviews

The four finalists, Jason Alexander, Derek Ipensen, Ashley O’Dell and Ronnie Ortega, were interviewed by the school board on Monday.

Current Superintendent Todd Strom announced recently that he will retire at the end of the school year after 33 years.

The superintendent-elect will be announced on December 12. Their first day of work will be July 1, 2023.

Derek Ipensen has been principal of Norfolk Public High School since 2018.

He has a doctorate in educational leadership from Doane College, a specialist degree in education from the University of Nebraska – Kearney, a master’s degree in education from the University of Nebraska – Kearney, and a bachelor’s degree in education from Doane College.

He previously served as PK-12 principal at Shickley Public Schools and activities director, teacher and coach at Central Catholic School in West Point.

Ipensen said his “keys to success” define who he is as an administrator. The first key is to define success; the second is to have a plan and be flexible; the third is to have faith in people, plans and preparations, the fourth is to be a leader and protector of the people; and the fifth is to work hard and have fun.

Ipensen spent Nov. 16 in South Sioux City meeting with people in the area and community. Ipensen said he visited South Sioux three times during the interview process and said each time he left, he was more excited about the community and the area.

“The passion that the people here at South Sioux have for their school and their community is incredible,” he said.

When asked what he would do to focus on culture, diversity, equity and inclusion, Ipensen said that many conversations need to be had with the different cultural groups of the community.

“By focusing on culture, diversity, equality and inclusion, we begin to see them not as something ‘other’ but as something simply different, and when we embrace those differences, we are stronger,” he said.

He said he will work with outside organizations to see what they want and need from the district and to ensure the district makes better use of partnerships already in place.

Recruiting and retaining school staff is a problem facing schools across the country, with various solutions being implemented, such as scholarships, higher wages, better benefits, and more.

Ippensen was asked what his thoughts were on the matter. He said it starts with building district staff who trust each other and know their professionalism is relied upon for retention. As for recruiting, Ipensen said the district needs to be attractive to prospective teachers.

Area stakeholders and community members said it is important to have a superintendent who is involved in the area; Ippensen was asked how he would get involved.

He said he will attend school events throughout the county so family members can see him and feel comfortable talking to him. He said he would also attend community events.

Ashley O’Dell has been the assistant superintendent at South Sioux City since last year.

She holds an Education Specialist degree and a Master of School Administration in Education from Wayne State College and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from the University of South Dakota.

She previously served as South Sioux City High School principal and assistant principal.

As a lifelong resident of South Sioux City, O’Dell said she has the advantage of already having connections in the community and has been heavily involved in community events. She also has deep knowledge of the field.

Although O’Dell works for the district, she still had a day in the district as a candidate and spent time with community members and staff.

She said the classrooms, schools, children, teachers and principals are the reasons she works for the district in the first place.

“The best things in my life have come from schools, whether they’re personal, whether they’re professional,” she said.

When asked what he would do to focus on culture, diversity, equity and inclusion, O’Dell said diversity is the most unique aspect of the area and one of the strongest pull factors.

As superintendent, she also said she will work with outside organizations to see what the needs are and what the district can do to celebrate different cultures.

O’Dell said the first step in addressing recruitment and retention is making sure staff feel valued and heard. She said having an open door policy as superintendent and listening to staff concerns can help people feel more comfortable.

Competitive salaries are another way to retain staff and hire more, she said.

Area stakeholders and community members said it is important to have a superintendent who is involved in the area. O’Dell was asked how she would participate.

O’Dell said he attends various activities throughout the district and believes it’s important for the community to know the superintendent is connected to the community.

“This is home for us, this is where we want to be, this is where we want to raise our children,” she said. “I feel connected to the community and (my family) does, and we have a really good person to be proud of.”

Jason Alexander has been superintendent of Beatrice Public Schools since 2018.

He holds an Education Specialist degree and a Master of Education degree from the University of Nebraska-Kearney and a Bachelor of Education degree from Chadron State College.

He previously served as superintendent and principal of Ord Public Schools and principal of Burwell Elementary School.

Alexander spent Nov. 15 in South Sioux City meeting with people in the area and community. Alexander said South Sioux City is a great neighborhood with great people, and it’s obvious that there is community pride in the school district.

When asked what he would do to focus on culture, diversity, equity and inclusion, Alexander said they first need to have conversations about what the district does well.

He said the district must then reach out to the people, listen to their needs and then address them.

“We have to listen, that’s probably the key factor,” he said. “If we want to get people’s opinions, we have to be willing to listen to what they have to say and sometimes we have to be honest with ourselves and say ‘should we do this differently’.”

Alexander said competitiveness is the best way to recruit and retain teachers. He said the world of education is changing and the field needs to stay ahead of the competition.

He said the district needs to find the selling points of South Sioux City to show people a reason to move there.

As for retention, Alexander said the district needs to include staff in decision-making processes and have conversations with staff about what will keep them in the district.

Area stakeholders and community members said it was important to have a superintendent involved in the area, and Alexander was asked how he would be involved.

Alexander said involvement is an important aspect of being a superintendent.

“They want to know that you’re approachable, they want to know that you’re personable and that they can talk to you,” he said.

He said attending school activities and participating in community organizations like the chamber of commerce and Kiwanis are ways to be in the community.

Ronnie Ortega has been the principal of Bryan High School in Omaha for four years.

He holds a PhD in Educational Leadership, an MA in Educational Leadership and an MA in School Counseling from the University of Nebraska-Omaha and a BA in Secondary Education from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

He previously served as executive director of school support and supervision for Omaha Public Schools and principal of Buffett Magnet Middle School in Omaha.

Ortega said there are 244 precincts in Nebraska and only three he would consider working in — South Sioux City being one of them.

“I feel my strengths are perfectly suited to your challenges here. You have everything in place and we just need strong leadership and the right kind of leadership to really move things forward,” he said.

Ortega spent Nov. 16 in South Sioux City meeting with people in the area and community. He said it was a tough day and it was worth the time.

“I got a lot of information … not only the strengths, but also the challenges,” he said. “I continue to feel that I can handle some of these challenges, that some of the challenges that you’re facing now are challenges that I’ve dealt with before.”

When asked what he will do to focus on culture, diversity, equity and inclusion, Ortega said it’s a lens he looks at things with and a lens he was born with.

He said it’s important for kids to see themselves in the school district and on the school staff. He said he loves the community he’s proud of and values ​​diversity.

“I’d like to get the community a little bit more into that next step of inclusion and equality,” he said. “These are some of the challenges in South Sioux City Community Schools — how do we take that step from valuing and appreciating diversity to providing equitable outcomes for our children.”

Ortega said Omaha’s Bryan High School is known as the district’s most inclusive school and the only school where students in advanced academic schools reflect the school’s demographics.

When asked how he would handle recruitment and retention, Ortega said he would like to look at ways to provide education to classified personnel and help them transition into teachers and administrators for the district.

As for recruiting, Ortega said taking on student teachers is a great way to hire teachers and see if they’ll fit in well with the district.

Area stakeholders and community members said it’s important to have a superintendent involved in the area, and Ortega was asked how he would be involved.

Ortega said that now that he works at a large high school, every night there is an event or activity that he can attend. He said he tries to balance his time in the community with his leadership team to attend the events.

“You want to be at all the events, but that’s not possible for people, so how do you work with your leadership team to make sure there’s district representation at all the events that are important to the community,” he said.

He said he looks forward to identifying opportunities in South Sioux City where he can be useful and have a presence.

The Board of Education hired Hazard, Young, Athea and associates to help with the national search for the next superintendent. The district distributed a survey as well as had focus groups throughout the community to determine what traits were desired in the next superintendent.

You can watch the full interviews on YouTube.