Superintendent Press Release November 17, 2023
Dear Cedar Bluffs Families,
We love a packed house and last week’s Veterans Day was just that. Thank you to all those who served! On staff at Cedar Bluffs Public School is Kiefer Kotrous – Active Army National Guard, Adam Kavan – Veteran of the Air National Guard, Bill Hansen and Terry Klahn – Retired Veterans of the United States Army.
Another great tradition we have always had is packing the house for volleyball and basketball game, but this year if you can’t make, you can always catch the game on our new Cedar Bluffs HS Hudl TV Home page that can be found here:
https://fan.hudl.com/United-States/NE/Cedar-Bluffs/organization/32475/Cedar-Bluffs-High-School
Well, we were unsuccessful again in convincing enough Athletic Directors to vote to change the rules in Nebraska to allow a student to do more than one NSAA sport at the same time. Complaints about how hard that would be on AD’s and the extra work they would have to do if we passed this new policy lead to a 14-47 vote against our proposal. At Cedar Bluffs Public School, when we say, “kids first” we know that as adults what is right and what is best for kids, sometimes requires the adults to do more work or figure out a new way to do things but it was not meant to be.
Lastly, as we approach the end of the semester, I want to share some information about upcoming staff and administrative changes that will take effect over the winter break. First, we are very excited to have the opportunity to bring the JAG program to Cedar Bluffs Public School in January 2024. JAG (Jobs for America's Graduates) is a program that closely mirrors what Mrs. Kate Chrisman currently does for the school through our own Career Academy. However, JAG is fully funded by the United Way of Nebraska and employs a director to oversee the program. This means that Mrs. Chrisman can be utilized in a different role. Mr. Ben Hansen, who has served as our elementary principal for the past 7 years, will be shifting into a different administrative role as our new Director of Learning; where he will be able to focus on curriculum, instruction, and assessment. He is looking forward to this new role and we are thrilled to have someone focusing on this aspect of learning. Mrs. Kate Chrisman, who has had a multi-faceted career during her 11 years in the district, including classroom teacher, career academy director, and daycare director, will be bringing a broad range of wisdom and experience to the elementary principal role. As many of you know Kate has both her principal and superintendent’s license and is looking forward to taking on official administrative duties. All of these changes are going to require a season of adjustment for our staff as we go through training and onboarding for each of these positions. In hopes of making this transition as seamless as possible, we will be using the 2nd semester to ensure that we are getting effective, foundational training for each new person. We appreciate your flexibility and patience as we move forward, and I hope you will join me in welcoming each one of them into their new duties. We are thrilled to have so many capable educators on staff here at Cedar Bluffs Public School, and we are looking forward to seeing Kate and Ben flourish in their new roles. If you have any questions or concerns about the transition of positions, please reach out to one of the administrators at the school.
Have a great weekend!
– ONLY 2 DAYS NEXT WEEK then enjoy Thanksgiving.
Wildcat Pride!