Schools Supt to speak at Monday's Democratic luncheon

The featured speaker at Monday's Democratic luncheon will be Carson City Superintendent of Schools Andrew Feuling. Having served as the district's chief financial officer for eight years, he was able to hit the ground running when promoted to the top job in July. His presentation will provide insights into how successful Carson City's schools have been at implementing the district's "learner-centered" model, which focuses instruction on what the individual student needs to know and be able to do.

On December 13 the school district's board of trustees gave Andrew Feuling an overall satisfactory rating after his first six months as superintendent. Trustees noted that the new superintendent has focused on “establishing and maintaining an effective culture” in Carson City, which remains “well-versed with district policies as well as with the federal, state and regional governments’ policies and politics and the relationships to local districts and schools.” They also wrote that Feuling is “conscious of analyzing and assigning instructional resources in a cost-effective, equitable manner.”

The district's evaluation system rates eleven areas of management in five levels: (1) unsatisfactory, (2) needs improvement, (3) satisfactory, (4) very satisfactory, and (5) superior. The board recorded ratings in nine areas for a combined average score of 27.56 out of a maximum possible of 45.

Some trustees worried that they were being overly cautious with their initial evaluation, which should have expressed everything in full from the start.

“These are great first steps,” trustee Joe Cacioppo said. “For the next step, what are we going to do with it? … I don’t think an early assessment is a negative thing at all.”

Trustee Laurel Crossman was excited about Feuling’s involvement at the schools in recent months. “I wish our ratings showed a little more. I think there’s many areas, AJ – your involvement in the community and the energy – It’s a real revitalized energy in the district,” she said. “And maybe it was a little early or we were a little hard. You’re on the right path.”

Trustee Mike Walker said Feuling “on the high end of satisfactory” with the support of the district’s employee groups and for being a “stable force” after former Superintendent Richard Stokes.

Trustees said they looked forward to seeing his improvement in the coming year. The board approved Feuling’s evaluation in a 7-0 vote.

On his web page Superintendent Feuling lays out his vision for the district as follows:

“With our dedicated staff, a sophisticated student data system and a guaranteed curriculum and assessment process, we expect every student to be successful.

This attitude is not only espoused by our professional staff, but also by our citizens. They believe that they, too, have a civic responsibility to contribute to the learning of our students.

As a result, our community empowers tomorrow's innovators, leaders and thinkers by embracing the future with the same pioneering spirit that made our city the capital of Nevada and a thriving hub of business, industry and culture.

Carson City School District is much more than a collection of schools. It is a community vision to establish extraordinary schools and develop productive citizens. Our district is large enough to offer unique and specialized programs but small enough to maintain the personal touches that make our schools so inviting.”

Andrew Feuling received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, a Master of Science degree in Educational Leadership and Administration from Capella University in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and a Master of Science degree from the School Business Management at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Sponsored by the Democratic Men's Committee, this event is scheduled for 1:00 PM on Monday, January 23rd, and can be attended either in person at Black Bear Diner, inside Max Casino, or online via Zoom. Supt Feuling's presentation will begin after all the lunch orders have been taken, around 1:30. Those wishing to be on distribution for luncheon Zoom links should contact Rich Dunn at richdunn@aol.com.