USD 410 super resigns for Topeka post

?Professionally, I wanted to accept this challenge. Personally, it?s very difficult because my family and I have become a part of this community.??Steve NobleSteve Noble, superintendent of USD 410 since 2009, has accepted a similar position with the Topeka Sea?man school district in northeast Kansas.

Noble?s resignation will take effect June 30, the end of the current contract year.

?It was purely a professional-growth opportunity that caused me to apply,? Noble said. ?There are a few places in the state that have a reputation for good schools. Topeka Seaman met that criteria for me.?

USD 410 Board of Education met Thursday evening to formally accept Noble?s resignation and discuss the next steps in searching for a successor.

?Professionally, I wanted to accept this challenge,? Noble said of his decision. ?Personally, it?s very difficult because my family and I have become a part of this community.?

Gita Noble is a middle school teacher and the family has three daughters: Eva, 13; Ellie, 11; and Emma, 10.

?My girls love it here and these schools are outstanding,? Noble said. ?We know that because of what our graduates and our alumni are doing out there.?

Noble said he has one major project he and the board need to complete before June 30.

?We are in the middle of a strategic planning process for Hillsboro, and my biggest goal is to complete that process with this board?to sort of set the table for the next superintendent to come in, whoever that person might be.

?It?s easier to come into a situation where the district has a clear vision and a plan where they want to head,? he added. ?I want that to be the case in Hillsboro before we leave.?

Noble said Topeka Sea?man is a Class 5A district of around 3,800 students with six elementary schools, one middle school and one high school. The district is nearing the end of a $54 million bond issue to remodel five of its middle schools and build a new one.

Demographically, Noble said the district is strikingly similar to Hillsboro, with a student body that is 90 percent Caucasian. Econom?ically, 35 percent of Seaman students qualify for free or reduced lunches, compared to 38 percent in USD 410.

Noble said the district is desiring to move ahead with a one-on-one technology initiative, boost its technical education emphasis through a Pathways program, and implement a system-wide STEM program using Project Lead the Way.

Noble has had experience in all three areas.

?I think there are some thing that make it a good fit, professionally,? he said. ?I?m hoping we can bring some of those ideas to Seaman as well.?

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