John Jungmann finalist for Omaha superintendent post

It seems like only a couple of years ago that a teenaged John Jungmann worked for me at the late and lamented Lamar Press, but 15 years have passed and the 34-year-old Monett superintendent is now one of five finalists for superintendent of the Bellevue School District in Omaha, Neb.:

The Omaha World Record describes Jungmann like this:

John Jungmann is the youngest candidate and has the least experience out of the five. He started teaching in 1999 in Lamar, Mo.


As the leader in Monett, Jungmann said, his job “is to be visible in the community and be regularly seeking feedback.”

He also believes in letting data guide decisions. Four years ago, he adjusted the middle school schedule to allow for after-school tutoring in communication arts.

As a partial result, Monett's communication arts state test scores improved at a faster rate than the state's. Now the district has math and communication arts tutoring for students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

Even though Monett's enrollment of about 2,200 students is much smaller than Bellevue's, Jungmann is confident he could lead a bigger district.

“Leadership skills are transferable,” he said. “The issues are still the same when it comes to student achievement.”