By Ericka Werling
Lifestyles Editor
SOLOMON – The Solomon School Board approved a contract for Jeremy Boldra during Monday’s monthly meeting for the combined K-5 principal/superintendent position.
The board did not release the amount of the contract.
Board members interviewed candidates Saturday and Sunday. Five candidates were chosen for interview, but one candidate had accepted another position, board president Gary Mitchell said.
Boldra, a Hays native, is currently the Junior/Senior High Principal at Marmaton Valley in Moran, Kan., a position he has held since 2008. Moran is 30 minutes west of Fort Scott.
Boldra attended the University of Kansas on an academic scholarship where he received a bachelor’s degree in middle/secondary social studies education in 1996. He received his master’s degree in curriculum and instruction at KU in 2002. After student teaching at Lawrence High in the Fall of 1996 and Shawnee Heights Middle School in Topeka in the Spring of 1997, he landed his first teaching/coaching job at White Rock Middle School in Esbon, Kan. The school district has since consolidated with Mankato.
He was then offered a job teaching/coaching at Shawnee Mission Northwest High School in Kansas City. After teaching for five years at Northwest High School, Boldra was offered a job as the athletic director in 2005. He was the athletic director for three years, and he received his building administrator certificate from Emporia State University during that time.
Boldra’s wife, Bryna, is a middle school math teacher. They have two sons, Landon, 6, and Keenan, 3.
“As your Superintendent and as the leader of your district, my job is to carry out the vision of your elected Board as it should reflect the values and needs of the Solomon community,” Boldra said. “We have many challenges in front of us with College and Career Readiness Standards, Common Core Curriculum, state budget uncertainties, new evaluation systems, etc.
“However, new challenges present new opportunities for growth and excellence. I am excited and anxious about the current changes in education,” he added. “I believe Common Core Curriculum is going to get us back to basics, back to higher order thinking skills, back to engaged learning, and further away from teaching to a test.
“I believe technology is a tool that we must use to prepare students for 21st Century skills, and I believe that we must teach appropriate use and etiquette. There are many programs we can use to enhance students’ math and reading skills, but ultimately it is the teacher in the classroom and the way they deliver instruction that will have the greatest impact on students’ learning. Most important to the success of the school district is the support of the community, and I am highly encouraged by the support I have already observed.
“In the next few months, we will be hiring people for some key vacancies that exist, and consequently, I will be visiting to be involved in the process,” Boldra said.
