The Norris Board approved on Thursday the appointment of Norris Middle School Assistant Principal and Special Education Director Brenda Tracy as Principal for Norris Elementary (grades PK-2) effective 2013-14. 

Mrs. Tracy, a doctoral candidate in Education Administration at the University of Nebraska, also possesses an Education Specialist, Master’s degree in Ed Ad, and her undergraduate credentials from UNK.  Mrs. Tracy brings expertise in early childhood development to the district’s younger grades and was instrumental in the institution and expansion of Norris preschool programming, having co-authored a competitive pre-school grant which the district won to expand service criteria for preschool aged students. 

Mrs. Tracy possesses extensive knowledge in both interventions for struggling students and differentiation for high-performing learners.  In addition to the AP duties she fulfills in the Middle School, Mrs. Tracy has been the Special Education Director at Norris since 2001.  She is a recognized education leader in Nebraska who is the current NASES State President-Elect and serves on the Nebraska Council of School Administrators Executive Board. 

The district had earlier identified veteran Elementary principal Dr. Bob Brandt as the inaugural principal for the new Norris Intermediate scheduled to open Fall, 2013 and serve grades 3, 4 & 5.  Brandt has served as Elementary principal at Norris since 2000 and was superintendent in Schuyler for a decade prior to that.  He has been a public school administrator since 1975, and is a member of professional organizations AASA, ASCD, and the UNL PDK chapter.

The district is not adding any administrative staff for 2013-14; both the Elementary and Intermediate will each have a building principal and no assistant.  The Middle School will continue to have a Principal and Assistant Principal.  Mr. Matt Rice will move from his current duties as Elementary Assistant to serve as the Middle School AP for grades 6-8 in fall, 2013.