Emerson will replace Sickels at Nodaway-Holt

SUBMITTED PHOTO
Shawn Emerson

The Nodaway-Holt R-VII School District will have two new administrators next year.

After approving Dr. Ken Blackford to take over for departing superintendent Karma Coleman in December, high school principal Ethan Sickels started to realize it may be time for him to move on as well.

“It was just the right time,” Sickels said. “I’ve had a good tenure at Nodaway-Holt, but it was just time for me to go as well.”

Sickels submitted his resignation to the board in January, at which point they started to look in earnest for his replacement. The board hosted several candidates for the position at an interview night Feb. 6, and from those candidates they chose someone familiar to the northwest Missouri region.

Shawn Emerson currently serves in Falls City, Nebraska as the North Elementary School preschool through second grade principal. Before going to Falls City in 2014, Emerson was the principal and athletic director at South Nodaway for three years.

Emerson was approved as the principal at South Nodaway in 2011, having taught physical education at South Nodaway since 2006. Before that, Emerson taught 7-12 physical education and coached basketball at Northeast Nodaway, he also coached basketball and served as a paraprofessional at Union Star.

Emerson received his bachelors in elementary education and physical education from Northwest Missouri State University in the spring of 2001. In 2013, Emerson completed his Master’s in educational leadership at William Woods University.

Emerson said he was excited to return to the area where he started his career.

“One of the best reasons to work in the region is because of the support system I developed while I was there,” Emerson said. “It will be great to come back and work with that support system once again.

“I worked in northwest Missouri for 11 years after graduating from Northwest, and I really liked the area. Nodaway-Holt has a good blend of veteran staff and new teachers, which will give me a great chance to grow professionally. I’ll also be working with a new superintendent, and I feel like the two of us and Mrs. (Rita) Carroll (elementary school principle) will be a great administrative team for the district.”

Emerson said the transition process hasn’t been hammered out quite yet, but he will be coming to Nodaway-Holt later in the spring to meet the staff and faculty. He will also get into the community to meet the parents and students before officially coming to work in the middle of the summer to take over.

He’s also confident because he knows who he will be replacing.

“Ethan has been in the area for awhile as well; he took over for me at South Nodaway when I came to Nebraska,” Emerson said. “He’s a great guy, and we have a great working relationship.”

“I think he’ll be great for the district,” Sickels said of Emerson. “They had a great field to choose from, and I’m happy they picked him to do it.”

Emerson will take over for Sickels effective July 1.