New professors draw on many years of experience

 The seniors, who will begin student teaching in January and graduate in May, listened as Mike Engel, Jerry Neff and Chuck Squier drew on their more than 50 years of experience as public school administrators while discussing teacher evaluations.

The discussion was during one of the special topic sessions that take place weekly in the Hildreth Education Building. Area school administrators and counselors and officials from the Educational Service Units and the Nebraska State Education Association are among those who have spoken to the seniors this fall.

In opening last week’s session, Engel said, “The evaluation may not be your most enjoyable experience, but it’s vitally important. You want to be prepared to put on your best 50 minutes of the year when the principal is there. The second, or formal, evaluation will likely determine whether you are hired again.”

Squier noted that while “there are as many evaluation forms are there are school districts,” the evaluations boil down to three basic criterion: 1, instructional performance; 2, classroom organization and management; and 3, personal and professional conduct.

Dr. Neff added that if there is a problem, most principals don’t want to “throw out,” or fire, the teachers, but want to help them improve their skills so they can do a better job. In some cases, the principal may advise the teacher to seek more training in a subject or perhaps take another course in classroom management.

Neff said the recent emphasis on No Child Left Behind and curriculum standards is putting increased pressure on teachers and will enter into the evaluation process more and more. He advised teachers to retain data on how their students are progressing and scoring on tests.

“Don’t teach just so your students know the answers and can pass the tests; teach so they have the skills that allows them to pass the tests,” advised Neff, who was the principal at Ogallala High School four years and a superintendent of schools at Curtis and Hebron in Nebraska and Julesburg, Colo., a total of 15 years.

Engel noted that while the standards and increased testing are burdensome, the results can be used to track where a curriculum problem lies and help the school overcome it.

“Proper use of the test results requires coordination by the teachers,” said Engel, who was a principal for 15 years, mostly in northeast Nebraska schools, before serving as superintendent four years at St. Edward and two years at Eustis-Farnum.

The trio noted that teacher evaluations should be the No. 1 priority of the principal and should not be left to the last two weeks of the school year. They advised the CSC seniors to remind the principal that he or she has not evaluated them, if that is the situation. They added that the post-evaluation meeting is vitally important because both the teacher and the principal can learn from it.

Squier, who was a teacher in the Ord and Lincoln schools 10 years and an administrator 12 years, including the last four as superintendent at Rushville, added that not all teachers teachthe same way. “In some classrooms you’d think Linus (the Peanuts cartoon character) was there. There seems to be a cloud of dust over the classroom and kids are all over the place. Yet, there may be great education going on there.”

Dr. Joyce Hardy, senior vice president of academic and student affairs at CSC, said Chadron State is extremely fortunate to have added these experienced public school administrators to the faculty this year.

“I was thrilled with our hiring success in the Education Department,” said Hardy. “These gentlemen have diverse backgrounds and years of practical experience that they are able to share with our students. They’re a great asset to our program. They bring a lot of knowledge and experience that they gained while working in different size schools and with a variety of personalities.”

The three have different specialties. Engel is primarily teaching media technology and classroom management, Neff is teaching upper level and graduate courses in administration and curriculum development and Squier is teaching special education courses.

All three also supervise student teachers.

Dr. Don King, chairman of the CSC Education Department, said the trio has added breadth to the faculty, providing a rich base of knowledge and application.

“Chadron State education students are the winners because they are receiving strong content and theory from these men, coupled with a practitioner’s perspective,” King stated.

Each of the three said he is enjoying being on the college faculty.

“I’m thrilled to be teaching here,” said Engel. “It’s been very pleasant with less pressure and a new perspective.

Although Squier had an idea about how hard college professors work since his wife Cindy is also on the CSC faculty, he said didn’t realize that was the norm.

“It’s unbelievable how many hours the people around here put in,” said Squier. “This college has a great bunch of hard-working people. I’m also impressed with the students. For the most part, they also have a great work ethic and are really good kids. While I have lived near here the past four years, I didn’t know Chadron State had so many outstanding programs. This college provides a great opportunity in an area where there aren’t many other opportunities because of the distances involved.”

Neth also said he is enjoying his new surroundings. “I like the atmosphere on a college campus and the teaching experience. I began my career as a biology and math teacher. It’s fun to be teaching again.”