Administration: Nontraditional leaders focused on innovation

In the state’s third largest school district, we take an innovative and nontraditional approach to school leadership. Our 20 schools and more than 14,500 students are served by a group of educational leaders under the direction the district superintendent Gary Larsen working with three chief educational officers (CEOs).

CEOs Kim Bekkedahl, Pete Koehler, and Heath Thomason are based at each of the districts’ three high schools and direct the instructional program for a “cluster” of schools that includes a high school, its “feeder” middle school (s), and a set of four to five elementary schools. The CEOs work to build K-12 alignment of programs. Building leaders called administrators tackle the day-to-day issues of running a school, freeing up time for CEOs to focus on instruction and student achievement.

The CEOs work collaboratively with the superintendent to identify the resources needed for each cluster. Gary has served Nampa for more than 14 years. He sees himself first as an instructional leader, who articulations the vision for schools and works to provide a system focused on the needs of children and the staff that support them.

The district office is organized to provide a technical support system that complements our site-based decision making structure.

Chief Academic Officer Paula Kellerer leads the team providing academic services from assessment analysis to guaranteed curriculum.

Chief Financial Officer Josh Jensen leads the teams providing financial support from paying the bills to monitoring budgets and provides public and media relations support to schools.

Chief Operations Officer Harmon Hurren leads the team that provides maintenance, operations, and nutritional services to schools.