Interview+Summary


 * Interview of Dr. Collene Van Noord**
 * Assistant Superintendent for**
 * Palmyra Area School District**
 * by Paul J. Steigerwald**

On Friday January 29, 2010, at 3:00 p.m., I sat down with Dr. Collene Van Noord, assistant superintendent for Palmyra Area School District to discuss some of Dr. Van Noord’s views on educational leadership in the 21st Century. Dr. Van Noord was recently promoted to be the next superintendent for Palmyra when Dr. Larry Schmidt retires at the end of the 2009- 2010 school year. Dr. Van Noord had an opportunity to share with me some of her educational goals/beliefs and how she plans to lead PASD.

As the assistant superintendent for curriculum development, Dr. Van Noord knows the importance of understanding educational research and how children best learn. During the past 7 years, she has overseen several initiatives at Palmyra in helping prepare teachers to teach their students into the 21st Century. As she now transitions into her new role as superintendent of the district, she understands that she needs to continue growing and learning about how children best learn, especially in this technology driven era.

Early on in the interview, Dr. Van Noord stated how important it was for an educational leader to fully understand the community in which they are leading. She went on to mention the book by Greg Mortenson, entitled, //Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace. . . One School at a Time.// Dr. Van Noord explained that Greg Mortenson learned the importance of knowing the community in Pakistan in which he was living especially when he was trying to have a lasting effect on that community. He learned that he needed to take his place and “shut up” and just listen and learn. Just like Greg Mortenson learned to be quiet and learn about the community, Dr. Van Noord believes she needs to listen and learn from the Palmyra community if she is ever going to have a positive impact on the children of this school district.

//In the book by Jim Collins, Good to Great//: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… And Others Don’t//,// Collins talks about how a business entity can go from good to great//.// Several years ago, Dr. Schmidt stated that he believed Palmyra School District was a good school district; he went on to say that he believed we needed to work hard in order to become a great school district. He emphasized several key/important components in helping our district to strive in order to go from good to great. In fact, Dr. Van Noord believes that over the past few years, the district has grown and developed as a school district and therefore has gone from good to great. She now believes, however, that the district is capable of going from great to excellent. She is excited about this challenge and in leading this district as we strive at becoming an excellent school district.

As I have worked with Dr. Van Noord for the past 7 years and in hearing her answers to the various questions I posed to her about leadership and in her leading Palmyra Area School District, I could not help but compare her leadership style to that of various business leaders. The first leader is Robert Greenleaf, the founder and developer of Servant Leadership. Like Greenleaf, Dr. Van Noord believes in leading by example. People will only follow a leader, if they show value and respect to the people in which they lead. And the greatest way to accomplish this is by being an example to your followers. Van Noord believes that she will have the most impact on the district by being an example to her leadership team, teachers, and staff. She hopes that they in turn will be effective leaders to the children within their school building.

Another effective leader that Dr. Van Noord has similar leadership values with is Bill George, the former CEO for Medtronic and author of the book, //Authentic Leadership//. Just like Bill George, Dr. Van Noord believes in empowering her leadership team. She believes in the principals and their assistants and has empowered them to lead in the perspective buildings. By saying to them, “I believe in you and the work you are doing”, she has empowered them to believe in themselves in order to lead effectively.

In closing, Dr. Van Noord described leadership as a journey, similar to sailing a boat. When sailing a boat on the open seas, there isn’t just one path to your destination, but rather many ways to get there. The most important thing to accomplish is that you get to your final destination. She went on to share a Japanese term called Kaisen, which means “always improving”. She believes that effective leaders are never satisfied with their leadership abilities, but rather, they are always improving as leaders. I believe this statement to be true of my leadership abilities as well; one in which I want to always be improving.