New Administrative Duo Embraces Second Semester

While they may be the new administrators on the block in Creighton, Principal Jolene Dredge and Superintendent Stephanie Petersen are veteran educators.
 
This administrative duo said they are excited to start their second semester with Creighton Community Public Schools.
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“It’s a great school, so we are really happy to be a part of it. The community has been very welcoming to us,” Dredge said.
 
After serving as the principal in Laurel for the past 18 years, Stephanie Peterson transitioned into the role of superintendent for Creighton Community Public Schools as well as taking on the responsibility of K-3 principal.
 
Working as a staff developer at Educational Service Unit 2 in Fremont for the past ten years, Jolene Dredge has now moved home and she is taking on the role of principal for grades 4-12.
 
“All of my family lives in the Neligh-Plainview area.  Being closer to family has been a blessing,” Dredge said.
 
During this first semester, the administrative duo has invested time into meeting with teachers and education teams.

“As far as just starting the year, we both said we were going to listen and learn in the beginning.  We were not going to jump in and change things from how we have done things in the past.  We just want to look what Creighton is doing,” Petersen said.
 
Both Dredge and Petersen said they are impressed with Creighton’s caliber.
 
“One thing I have been really impressed with is the students and how hard they work and want to succeed, whether that be academics, athletics, or activities. We have such a high participation rate. It’s just an expectation,” Petersen said. “Students are in activities. They do well on testing. They are polite young people, and it is just fun to work with that group of students.”

“We have a veteran staff that is very knowledgeable. They have been here for a lot of years, so they know the families and students and have the relationships with the kids,” Dredge said. “Being a smaller district, we have the opportunity to get to know everyone more than just a classroom-type basis.”

Dredge said their projects are focused on improving the building, technology and instruction strategies.

"When you first go into a school, the first thing you need to look at is a school improvement plan.  They have outside people that come in and evaluate the school and make recommendations," Dredge said. "We had that evaluation last year, so we have a brand new plan.  One of those recommendations is technology.  That document is our roadmap to what we need to move forward with." 

Some of the technology updates will be taking place this summer. Creighton will be putting new data points in every room to improve connectivity.

"We are working with technology that goes with new school improvement goals," Petersen said. "The iPads that students have are mostly for note-taking at this time.  We want to move it to the next level to really engage students with the technology and help their learning."
 
Petersen mentioned that one of the building projects that they are working on is a new HVAC system.  The school is currently using the original boiler system from when the building was established.

“We are looking at a lot of different things with the building, instruction, technology.  We have a lot going on for second semester,” Petersen said. “It’s been an exciting first semester and we are ready for the second.”