Fort Smith, AR, June 7, 2019
Nicole Shaffer
Nicole Shaffer will serve as the next principal of Fairview Elementary School. Mrs. Shaffer's leadership experience includes four years as the assistant principal of Woods and Barling Elementary Schools and two years as the assistant principal of Cook Elementary School.
Her educational accomplishments include a Bachelors of Science in Education from Arkansas Tech, a Masters degree in Education from the University of Arkansas, and a Masters degree in Educational Leadership from Arkansas Tech. She is also a veteran of the Air Force, having served in the 188th Fighter Wing. Nicole's enthusiasm, positive outlook, instructional background, and student focus are characteristics that we believe will contribute to her success in this new role.
"It is an honor to have been selected as the Principal at Fairview Elementary beginning with the 2019-2020 school year. Fairview has a long history of excellence, something that can be attributed to only having 4 principals since it was established. That being said, I have no doubt that I will witness and become part of great things at Fairview and Fort Smith Public Schools. Fairview is known for having strong relationships with the community and with its Partners in Education. I am looking forward to building relationships with each of these stakeholder groups. As a building leader, my vision includes providing an exemplary education to all in the most genuine and inspiring environment. I feel this goes hand-in-hand with one of the established collective commitments by the Fairview staff. They committed to providing a positive school culture through words and actions so that everyone feels physically, emotionally, and intellectually safe. I feel that Fairview has many outstanding opportunities for both students and staff to learn and grow in an inspiring and safe environment. In the short time since I was selected, I have visited Fairview a couple of times. The climate of the building and the personality of those I have already met made it feel like home. Everyone has been helpful, welcoming and friendly and I am excited to begin my next journey as a Fairview Falcon."
"Mrs. Shaffer's enthusiasm, positive outlook, instructional background, and student focus are characteristics that we believe will contribute to her success in this new role" said Dr. Brubaker.
Vance Gregory
Mr. Vance Gregory has been promoted to Executive Director of Technology. In alignment with the recommendations of a recent peer review by the Consortium on School Networking (CoSN - the professional association for school technology leaders), the overall technology leadership role has been elevated to executive council. A director of technology operations role will be added within the department to oversee day-to-day functions such as project management, infrastructure uptime, and user support.
Vance has served as director of technology for eleven years. He was among the very first technology specialists hired by the district. He has bachelors and masters degrees in Business Administration from John Brown University.
"Being promoted to Executive Director of Technology is both an achievement and a new challenge. The Vision 2023 goals for the district and successful achievement of milestones are my immediate focus. The role of Executive Director will help provide continuity and consistency of technology integration into all facets of our district. It also challenges me to present new opportunities for enhancing student and staff access to instructional and learning technologies which permeate throughout our campuses, as well as adding and enhancing technology education pathways for our students. It is a challenging and exciting time to be a part of the FSPS leadership team and a leader in our Technology department, and I am honored to be given this opportunity."
Dr. Brubaker added, "This change will position Mr. Gregory to guide our decisions as a district in light of industry standards and best practices within the field of technology. He will do a great job."