Pearson excited about superintendent appointment

The Kellogg School District recently announced that Lance Pearson would be taking the reins of the district as its new superintendent.

The announcement was made last month after an exhaustive search that spanned several months.

Pearson, the current superintendent of Victor Public Schools in Victor, Mont., sat down with the News-Press and expressed his excitement about his new job. He is looking forward to getting involved in the Kellogg School District and its surrounding communities.

Besides just his experience as a superintendent, Pearson has taught at both the primary and secondary levels at various schools in California, Nevada and Montana, all at schools of varying sizes.

Coming to Kellogg, although not an easy decision given how much he enjoys his current job, makes sense for Pearson, who will be moving closer to his family.

“It’s still soaking in, but I’m very excited to be here,” Pearson said. “This is a great area to live in and everyone seems so kind and welcoming. It will also be nice to be closer to my family.”

Pearson is eager to get started, but due to his lack of familiarity with the district itself, doesn’t plan on coming in and shaking things up too much.

“When you come in as a the new guy you don’t have the background information to fill in the blanks,” he said. “I know that everyone seems very positive, but there definitely are some things that need to be looked into. That social media survey from the superintendent search was interesting and I gotta go back and revisit that. Perception is reality and 10 different people could read that and come away with 10 different things, and that can be tough.”

Pearson took tours of the KSD facilities last week and was impressed with what he saw.

“I go walking through the schools today and I don’t know if they told the kids, ‘Hey the new guy is coming in today, be on your best behavior,’ but the kids are such good kids,” Pearson said. “As I walked past the rooms, students were working and really getting after it.”

Pearson once again expressed his excitement in his selection, but was also very humble and courteous to the applicant he was chosen over for the position — current KSD curriculum director Nancy Larsen.

“I am very excited about being selected as the next superintendent of the Kellogg School District,” Pearson said. “I was honored just to be considered in the same interview process with a quality candidate like Dr. Larsen. I am enthusiastic and eager to collaborate with all of the Kellogg staff, students, parents and community to do whatever it takes for our kids.”