Mr. Hart
Superintendent of Schools
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Greetings Panther Nation!
As I enter my third year as superintendent, I want to thank all of you again for the opportunity to serve the District OR-1 community. I am very blessed to be part of this incredible team, and since coming here in 2020, I have been extremely impressed by the quality of our students and staff, and the support of our families and patrons. District OR-1 is a great place to be!
Please know that I feel very humbled and honored to serve District OR-1 as your superintendent. I have always been a fierce advocate for public education and I remain committed to doing everything in my power to maximize learning opportunities for all students and serve our school and community with integrity and pride. I will also continue to give my best effort every day to provide quality educational experiences for our students, staff, and families.
My mission is to foster a safe and inclusive school community that accepts and values all people, promotes high academic achievement and a strong work ethic, welcomes extracurricular involvement, effectively and efficiently utilizes resources, encourages responsibility, role models accountability and respect, and inspires its members to become lifelong learners and successful, productive citizens by utilizing and celebrating their own unique gifts and talents.
I believe that education (and especially high quality public schools like our district) give students an unbelievable opportunity to grow and learn in ways that can positively impact their lives. I believe that all students can learn at high levels if given the right opportunity and circumstances to do so. A great education can “level the playing field” for our children if they take full advantage of the opportunity. What we learn and how we implement and apply this knowledge truly determines our character as human beings and education is one of the critical cornerstones of any effective society.
Personal Information:
I was born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska. I went to high school at Lincoln Northeast and graduated with my Bachelor’s Degree from UNL. I also attended Doane College where I earned a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership as well as an Educational Specialist Degree.
I am very blessed to have a wonderful family. I have been married to my wife Sharon for over 26 years and we have two boys, Austin (who is out of college and working out of state) and Brandon (who is finishing his senior year at UNL), and two spoiled dogs: Casey and Bailey. I am also fortunate to have extended family in the Lincoln area.
I like to read and my favorite sports teams are the Huskers and the Chicago Bears (although being a fan of these teams has required much patience over the years). I also love spending time with family and friends, I enjoy the outdoors, and we love to travel as a family whenever we can. I am also a proud Veteran who spent over 20 years in the Army National Guard and was deployed to Iraq for a year in 2003-2004.
Work Experiences:
Prior to coming to District OR-1, I worked in the Norfolk Public Schools system for almost twenty years. During my tenure in the Norfolk system, I was the Assistant Principal at Norfolk Junior High School (2001- 2006), Principal at Norfolk Middle School (2006 -2010), Principal at Norfolk Junior High School (2010-2016), and Director of Human Resources, School Safety, and School Accreditation (2016-2020). Prior to working in the Norfolk system, I was also fortunate to serve students in Lincoln Public Schools system (1996- 2001) and the Omaha Public Schools system (1993-1996) as a middle level language arts teacher.
I love being a part of this community and look forward to another successful school year!
Go Panthers!
