An Arizona school administrator who members of the Ridgefield School District Board of Directors consider “a rising star” has been hired as the district’s new superintendent.
Nathan McCann accepted the position March 21, a day after meeting with area residents during a community forum at the high school. He will begin the job July 1, replacing current Superintendent Art Edgerly, who announced in October that he would retire at the end of the school year.
McCann is superintendent of the 750-student Altar Valley School District in Arizona. He previously was principal of a high school and junior high school in Flowing Wells School District in Arizona.
School board member Joe Vance said each of three finalists offered outstanding experience and skills, but board members felt McCann would be the best fit for the district.
“His career already has been recognized for doing phenomenal things,” Vance said. “We believe he has a passion for bringing that to Ridgefield. We already have excellent test scores, and he believes we can be even better. He said during the forum that being the best in the state is an attainable goal. What we see with Nathan is a rising star.”
School board members still must negotiate with McCann to set his salary.
During an interview with The Reflector, McCann said he was impressed with the support shown for the Ridgefield School District.
“I genuinely felt a lot of warmth and hospitality from everyone involved in the (selection) process,” he said. “I want to give considerable praise to the governing board for a well organized and detailed process to allow candidates to learn a lot about the school district at the same time they learned about the candidates. That’s a school board that’s committed to being the best school district in Washington.”
McCain said he’ll spend the first 90 days on the job listening and learning more about the district. He’ll wait to implement any possible changes until after that.
“I want to listen to all constituency groups,” he said. “At that point I will have some ideas about what the next steps will be. Student performance is already high and the district is situated to take its next steps. I was impressed with the feedback I got from teachers.”
Vance explained that McCann was being courted by other school districts at the same time he applied for the Ridgefield position. He was one of two finalists for the superintendent job at an Illinois school district, but accepted the Ridgefield offer before a decision was made in Illinois.
“He accepted ours because he wants to be here,” Vance said. “We were not alone in our appraisal of his abilities. He had other options and was being recruited other places. We weren’t just his second choice.”
Vance added that McCann has demonstrated his ability to improve student performance in Arizona.
“He is a bright guy and also a personable guy,” Vance said. “He relates well and will build on the wonderful foundation Art has provided.”
The new Ridgefield superintendent received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont in 1995, his master’s degree from the University of Vermont in 2003, and his doctorate from the University of Arizona in 1988.
The two other finalists were Mike Stromme, associate superintendent of teaching and learning for 22,500-student Vancouver School District, and Craig Hoppes, superintendent of the 1,883-student Astoria School District in Oregon.
Stromme, who also is a finalist for the Battle Ground School District superintendent post, worked as associate superintendent of instructional services and technology at Education Service District 112, where he also was interim superintendent for Green Mountain School District. Hoppes taught in three school districts before becoming superintendent at Astoria.
Vance said each of the finalists went through a rigorous interview process, including appearances before administrators, staff, high school leadership class students and community residents. Vance said he was particularly impressed with the feedback students gave school board members after their visit with the final three applicants.
“The feedback was incredible – very thoughtful and accurate on each of the candidates,” he said. “For the students to take that as seriously as they did says a lot about them.”
Vance also praised community members for their involvement. There were good turnouts for hour-long forums for each candidate held March 18-20.
“That helps with the recruiting process,” he said. “It shows the passion that the community has.”
The consulting firm of McPherson & Jacobson worked closely with board members during the selection process after a nationwide search. The finalists were chosen from an original field of 30 applicants.
McCann and his wife, Amanda, will move to Clark County in June with their 6-year-old daughter. McCann said she will attend Ridgefield schools and they will live in the district.
