A project led by Don Johnson, an assistant professor of practice in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Department of Educational Administration, is helping schools in western Nebraska fill their administrator shortages through the Grow Your Own Principal program.
The idea behind the program is to prepare local teachers to lead in schools and communities where they already work and live. Five future principals from Scottsbluff, Sidney and Gering will complete the program this year, while four others from Scottsbluff, Sidney, Gering and Chappell are just getting started.
For Johnson, who was a principal at Fort Calhoun Public Schools for 20 years before serving as superintendent for 10, it’s all about making the biggest impact possible.
“The goal is for these teachers to receive unparalleled preparation and support at a competitive cost,” Johnson said. “We recognize the value of local principals who understand their schools and communities. By partnering with schools in ESU 13 to develop the leaders they need, we are helping address the shortage of school principals in greater Nebraska.”
A new plan for the Grow Your Own principal program would train 21 potential principals over the next three years to serve communities across the state. The Grow Your Own program doesn’t only support principals while they’re pursuing their degrees. Johnson also leads a New Principal Bootcamp that creates cohorts for principals to build supportive friendships with their peers while receiving ongoing guidance from the university over a two- to three-year period.
Johnson and his colleagues in Educational Administration also prepare superintendents to lead schools throughout Nebraska. Overall, 53 school superintendents across the state are University of Nebraska graduates. That’s about 25% of superintendents in the state who are at schools leading more than 120,000 of the 329,000+ K-12 students in Nebraska.
After 30 years as an administrator himself, Johnson is grateful for the opportunity to make an even bigger difference.
“This is a dream for me,” Johnson said. “My mantra in my whole life has been to get to the highest place to make the most difference. It doesn’t get any higher than this. I’m teaching superintendents and principals, and through that, I can affect over 100,000 students. How cool is that?”
College of Education and Human Sciences
Educational Administration
