Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - S12

RURAL ENROLLMENT

Clark Hults

SUPERINTENDENT
Newcomb Central School District, N.Y.
BY DIETTE COURRÉGÉ CASEY

S

chool Superintendent and Principal Clark “Skip” Hults
knew something had to change in 2006, when enrollment
in his upstate New York school district dropped by two students.
That meant only 55 students remained in Newcomb Central
School, the remote district’s sole prekindergarten-through-12thgrade school, and the school’s continued existence might be in
jeopardy.
Another school might have considered consolidation. But that
wasn’t a good option for Newcomb, nestled as it is in the heart
of the Adirondack Mountains, where winters are harsh and
mountain roads can be dangerous for school buses.
Hults, 57, came up with a different idea after talking with
his brother, who lives in Australia: What if he recruited
international high school students to his district? That was a
major industry in Australia and other countries. Why wouldn’t
it work in his rural school?
Since that epiphany, Hults has transformed the school, nearly
doubling its enrollment to 105 and hosting 60 students over
five years from 25 countries, including Serbia, China, Brazil,
and Zimbabwe.
Recruiting tuition-paying international students has saved
the school by bolstering its finances and population, and it’s
changed its culture by exposing Newcomb students to diverse
heritages and languages. It’s also redefined the meaning
of “family” to the many residents who have hosted visiting
international students.
“I believe this has the potential to become a rural norm,”
Hults says. “It’s a win-win.”

LESSON LEARNED

“[W]hen you change
the culture, you have
to go slow, you have
to educate, and you
have to explain what
you’re doing and for
what reasons.
We started slow,
and it became
a cultural norm.”

A former elementary school teacher and principal, Hults
found his calling in education after working as a loan
operations officer and a nonprofit business administrator.
After spending 15 years in Arizona, Florida, and California,
he and his wife returned in 2003 to the Adirondacks, where
the school administrator’s family ties reach back three
generations.
Hults was named Newcomb’s school superintendent in
July 2006, and he realized shortly thereafter that the district

S12 |

>

LEADERS TO LEARN FROM www.edweek.org/go/leaders-report
EDUCATION WEEK • February 6, 2013

Heather Ainsworth for Education Week

How It Works



http://www.edweek.org/go/leaders-report

Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report

Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report
Contents
Dropout Reduction
English-Learner Education
School Turnarounds
Transportation
Rural Enrollment
Special Education
District-Union Partnership
Parent Engagement
School Climate
College Readiness
Digital Access
Social Networking
Student Discipline
Smart Growth
Stem Education
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - S2
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - Contents
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - Dropout Reduction
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - S5
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - S6
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - English-Learner Education
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - School Turnarounds
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - S9
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - Transportation
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - S11
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - Rural Enrollment
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - S13
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - S14
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - Special Education
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - District-Union Partnership
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - S17
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - S18
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - Parent Engagement
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - School Climate
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - S21
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - S22
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - College Readiness
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - S24
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - Digital Access
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - Social Networking
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - S27
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - Student Discipline
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - S29
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - Smart Growth
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - S31
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - S32
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - Stem Education
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - S34
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - S35
Education Week - February 6, 2013 - Special Report - S36
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