NEBRASKA CITY  - Mark Fritch joined Nebraska City Public Schools in an unprecedented time of a worldwide coronavirus pandemic.

Educators are asking technology to do more than ever, for innovations that promote healthy social distancing and fragile schedules that can bring 800 students back to the classroom.

The task is so fresh and solutions so untested, that Fritch sparsely had time to consider the footsteps of his own family that have gone before him.

 

 
 

His father, Gary,  was former school superintendent at Gothenburg and led the school district at Palmyra from 1975 to 1984. Fritch grew up in Palmyra and both men graduated from Peru State College.

Fritch: “My dad had a lot of experience with Otoe County, ESU 4, Nebraska City so, when I got this job, I think my dad’s first comment was Nebraska City has always had a tradition of some of the best administrators around. And so, he was pretty proud I was going to be a part of that legacy.”

He said he did not get into the profession to be a superintendent like his dad, but he feels it was a natural progression for him.

Fritch: “One thing hasn’t changed. I still enjoy working with young people and helping them to find their passion and to be successful. Through the process of being in a classroom and working with young people and growing professionally, I'm very passionate about leadership roles and helping other people be successful, not just students.”

Fritch has 27 years of experience in education as a teacher, coach and administrator, but success this year means dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

Fritch: “I think it’s a credit to our community. I think we’ve handled the (pandemic) with calmness. I think we’ve handled it with flexibility. I don’t know if anyone has handled it with answers because none of us have them, but the only way we’re going to get through this is to work together and knowing that we are going to make a few mistakes.

Fritch: “That we’re doing it in the best interest of our students, the best interest of our school district and the best interest of our community has allowed us, what I think, to provide an opportunity for students to be in schools and to get an education and do it as long as we can in a safe manner.”

He used the example of visiting his own mother after a long separation due to the pandemic  as an example of the value of face-to-face contact between teachers and their students.

Fritch: “I can only imagine the relationship our students have with teachers -- knowing the experience I’ve had as a student, as well as a coach, a teacher – that those bonds of those relationships are so powerful. It has very little to do with actually reading a word or doing a math problem, but it has everything to do with developing as a person.”

Recognizing the limitations of remote learning, Fritch says most people need human interaction to be successful.

He said school districts the size of Nebraska City are in a financial pinch because their tax valuation is not that high, but they have a lot of students.

Fritch: “If you notice Nebraska City is very similar to a lot of other school districts that are in a tough situation. The fact is we do not have a very high valuation for the district, but yet we have a lot of students to serve.”

He said the expectations he shared with the staff is to be a great teammate and the expectation that everyone knows the school fight song.

Fritch is a former assistant principal at Lewis Central in Council Bluffs as was second school principal at Wilber-Clatonia for seven years. Nebraska State Association of Secondary School Principals new principal of the year award in 2013.

Fritch grew up in Palmyra and studied at Peru State College from 1989 to 1994.

Fritch quarterbacked the Palmyra Panthers to the Class C-1 state football playoffs in 1988.

https://rivercountry.newschannelnebraska.com/story/42233199/new-school-superintendent-talks-about-kids-first-community-involvement-and-financial-footing