Manning the district

Carbon County School District No 2 (CCSD2) Superintendent candidate Noel Manning came to the Hanna Recreation Center to take questions from community members of the north part of Carbon County even though the weather was challenging to get around on Wednesday when the event started.

The audience was a mix of adults and students.

Hanna Elementary School 6th grade teacher Jackie Jones moderated.  

Manning gave the audience information on his professional and personal background.

Currently he is the Director of Curriculum for CCSD2. He has had this job since 2017.

“I was born and raised in Michigan and went to the University of Michigan where I graduated with three degrees; one in education, one in history and one in English and when I left Michigan, I moved to Colorado to start my teaching career,” Manning said. “I taught 8th grade Language Arts for one year at Mountain Ridge Middle School in Colorado Springs and then taught 6th and 7th grade Social Studies for seven years.”

He received his masters in Education and was also made the Department Chair of Social Studies for three years at Mountain Ridge. He came to Saratoga in 2017 for his current position.

“On a personal note, I have a passion to study, learn and then teach,” Manning said.

Jones asked Manning what made him want to leave his current position to become superintendent.

“I think curriculum is a very complex subject and it has its intricacies, and delicacies even, where you have to be around a lot of things and understand how they work, especially concerning students,” Manning said. “I have been in charge of what students learn while fulfilling the State’s requirements and making sure the students get a good education.”

Manning said he believes the next superintendent should be well versed in what students are learning. He said when he took on the job, there were missing components to the curriculum for CCSD2 which he brought to the district.

“I mean no disrespect for the current superintendent because he deserves his great reputation, but I feel that the work I have done for the past five years is beneficial to the superintendent position,” Manning said. “I want to bring the best I can to the students and I think, being superintendent, I can accomplish that.”

Jones asked about his leadership style.

Manning said different leadership styles are required by the situation. He didn’t believe one style fits all.

“I really enjoy working with teachers to figure out the best way to move forward,” Manning said. “Deep down in my very core I have always been concerned how I can help other people. Leadership means helping others and the style depends on the individual and circumstance.”

Jones asked him to describe what the term stakeholder meant to him. He defined stakeholder as those who had any investment in the school. They could be many types of people of all backgrounds but their concern for the school district made them stakeholders.

When asked about what attributes he brings to the job, Manning said he believed in building relationships and listening to concerns.

“I have strong ethics and believe in doing what is right for every person involved and being reflective,” Manning said. “Whenever I am running any workshop, I am asking for feedback. I care about what people are telling me. I think it is very important to listen and pay attention to the feedback.”

When asked if he had his superintendent certification and was it valuable to have for this position, Manning said he currently did not have the certification but he saw the value of it although it was not essential.

“Wyoming does not require a superintendent to have superintendent certification,” Manning said. “I love education and I have never stopped learning in my life, and I don’t see it as any hardship going to school to learn more. I don’t have a masters degree in curriculum, it is in administration, but I believe I have been successful in my job. I would be happy to go back to school and get the certification if that made people more comfortable with my credentials, but I don’t believe not having it will hinder me in doing this job well.”

Jones asked how he would deal with ineffective teachers and how he would instruct principals to right the situation. Manning said he would work with the teacher and the principal. He pointed out getting good to excellent teachers was not easy. He said it was beneficial to work with the teacher in the strongest manner possible before letting someone go. He said it was usually worth the effort. Manning said there are millions of educators across the country that work hard for their students. He would want all the information on where this individual was failing and then address the situation as warranted.

“Education is a complicated business and mistakes can happen,” Manning said. “I believe we help people where we can and that includes teachers.”

Manning said his message to the students of the district is his goal is to give them competent skills to face the world. 

The final question was what was his greatest success. 

Manning said it was when students realized he cared about them and wanted to help them succeed.