Norman F. Ridder, incoming superintendent, Springfield Public Schools

Springfield School Board members have said that one thing that set you apart from other applicants was your statement, “I love kids.” Where does your love of kids come from, and why did you enter the education field?
I think the main reason that I love kids is that ever since I was little, I’ve always been working with kids. I’m from a family of 12 – oldest boy and second-oldest (child) – pretty much in charge on the farm, because my dad worked in town after I was about 8 years old. So it’s something that I’ve always enjoyed. When I was in college, my junior and senior years, I did a lot of work with kids in elementaries as far as mentoring and volunteering, and just really, really enjoyed it. So I had to make a decision after I left college, whether I was going to go into the medical field or into education, and decided to go into education because of my love for kids.

How does the Springfield district compare to District 11 in Colorado Springs, where you are now?
I think they’re fairly similar in size. … (But) we are closed-in here in District 11. We’re surrounded by other districts and cannot grow any more. In fact, we’re declining in enrollment, whereas in Springfield they can continue to grow.
The other difference is that we have a high mobility rate here (in Colorado Springs), and we have more diversity here. The high mobility is due to our military presence. We have five military bases here. Also, we have tourism, and another thing is that we have quite a few religious centers, missionary centers for across the world, and we tend to get a lot of families that come and go related to that as well.

What were some of the main factors that led to your acceptance of the superintendent’s post in Springfield?
I would say that I sensed a real strong support by the community. Also, it seems like the system is ready to go to the next level, and I think I can take it there. It’s closer to my home. My mother is an older lady, and I need to get closer to her. And also, Missouri is neat, I think, and it’s different, and it sounds like an exciting place. It’s a good match for my wife and I both. We’re both down-home Midwestern types. This is totally new to us, which we like.

What challenges will you deal with first upon coming to Springfield?
To know the community, to know the system, to understand the classrooms. I really need to build my capacity as far as knowledge base of Springfield and the education system there.

School leaders in many districts, including Springfield’s, are faced with a need to trim the bottom line while improving students’ academic performance. How do you feel about consolidating smaller schools into larger ones and closing the smaller schools?
I think it’s really up to the community to make that decision, and I just need to see what the policy is. I think what really calls for any kind of consolidation or changes is (asking) what’s best for kids. If we can offer more programs by combining sites, then I think it’s much better for the kids. … On the negative side of course, is a neighborhood losing a school. A lot of times, that’s what drives and keeps a neighborhood going. Also, what’s interesting is that these smaller schools tend to be in the poorer neighborhoods, and neighborhood schools are very important to what I would call the lower socioeconomic families … basically having their schools close to home. It also takes a special teacher to work in these schools.

What are your priorities for your new position?
I’m coming in with a pretty strong sense of business, coming in with a model that works well in business, and I think it works well in schools, and all I’m going to use is my expertise to tweak the system whenever we as a team in Springfield feel that it needs to happen.

Tell us about your own educational background and your family.
I have a doctorate and a master’s degree from the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. I’m from West Point, Neb. My wife’s from Persia, Iowa. We have five children, all out of the home. We have one that’s in college and three in graduate school. Most of them are in Colorado. My wife’s name is Nadine. She’s a nurse, working for a private firm.