“A mind that is stretched by new experiences can never go back to its old dimensions.”  

— Oliver Wendell Holmes

I am absolutely thrilled to be the next Executive Director of the Idaho Arts Charter School!  This responsibility—to lead such an outstanding organization filled with so many intelligent, committed, and kind individuals—is not something that I enter into lightly.  I most certainly recognize the incredible amount of hard work, effort, design, and emotional investment that has happened here over the past 17 years.   My task is now to stand on the shoulders of the giants that have served prior to my assignment and press on!   I believe that Idaho Arts Charter School is an extraordinary place for children to develop the character, skills, and knowledge needed to be immeasurably successful in life.  The task before us is to leap into the next iteration of ourselves, move forward with intention, create and innovate remarkable experiences for students, never settling for “good enough.”   As Jim Collins so succinctly stated in his many books, “Good is the enemy of great.”   This school system, these dedicated, caring educators along with the 1,300 children in attendance each and every day, is destined for exponential greatness.   Excellence in all that we do will resonate through our hallways and in the hearts of all who enter in to learn, serve, develop, and explore new dimensions.  

I am coming to you from the state of Colorado where I have had every opportunity imaginable to serve children.  I began my educational journey in the classroom where I taught and coached high school students.  At the age of 26, I was asked by my district administration to become an assistant principal of one of our middle schools.  The very next year I was promoted to become the principal of Paonia Elementary School—a place where I served for 6 memorable years!  My district then promoted me to become the Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, Curriculum and Assessment, and Public Relations.   Seven years later, I was asked to become the Superintendent of a smaller district near my hometown.  It was during this ten year period that we became one of the most successful school systems in Colorado centered around academic growth and the fine arts.  We developed a myriad of programs to ensure that all children were growing academically while developing a love for instrumental music, dance, art, drama, strings, and choir.  We implanted award winning health and wellness programs as well and were visited by over 100 school systems from all across the country for our innovation in instruction, technology, and community service programs.

It is my strongest opinion that success is all around us—sometimes lying dormant waiting for the right conditions to come along to explode beyond our imaginations.  The keys?  We must create the right conditions.  School must be filled with innovation, empowerment, and the relentless pursuit of kindness, grace and love.  All souls who make up IACS must feel safe, appreciated, and connected to something greater than themselves.  The culture of a home, a family, a business, a community, and, of course, a school determines the level of greatness that is achieved.   We must, without equivocation, be unwavering from creating such a culture.   Children must have experiences that are filled with wonder, excitement, kindness, grace, innovation, creativity, passion, and perseverance.  IACS must be safe enough for failure to happen over and over again, for we will never achieve ultimate success unless we fail, learn, and grow.   Excellence in all things is our end.  Success and failure inside the most wonderful environment imaginable are the means to this end.  Come and be a full partner in the IACS journey—it will be a fantastic experience!