Greenfield's New Superintendent Focused on Moving Forward

Though her titles have changed over her 20-plus years in education, Lisa Elliott can point to one that best describes her.

"Through and through, I consider myself an educator,” Elliott said from her new office Tuesday, just a little more than a week after officially taking over as head of the Greenfield School District.

Elliott was named superintendent in April following the January resignation of Conrad Farner. She is no stranger to the district having spent 20 years as a teacher, assistant high school principal and principal at Maple Grove Elementary.

She plans to draw on those experiences and her history as she focuses on moving the district forward.

“I’ve been able to build some really great relationships with people in those 20 years,” Elliott said. “I got to know a lot of people in kindergarten through 12th grade. That has been very helpful.

“It’s also atypical for a high school teacher and high school assistant principal to have the opportunity to be an elementary principal. It was a wonderful learning experience, and so now, coming into this position, I have a K-12 perspective, which I think is something that is unique and a huge asset.”

A lot done already 

In the months since Elliott become the School Board’s top choice of six finalists, the district made a $3.5 million commitment to technology advances and reorganized the central administrative office following the departure of yet another top administrator.

In addition, Greenfield settled a pending lawsuit with the teachers, coming to a tentative agreement earlier this month, according to Elliott. 

But it’s not as if those decisions were made without Elliott’s input or influence. Elliott, who spent the last two years as the Director of Curriculum and Instruction at Nicolet High School, was in constant contact with interim superintendent David Ewald making sure his proposals and suggestions lined up with Elliott’s visions and hopes.

More challenges await

And though with the help of Ewald her to-do list got a little shorter by the time she officially took her spot at the top July 1, Elliott knows there is plenty to do in the coming days, weeks and months.

The district, like many others across the state, will begin implementing Response to Intervention, designed to identify students with specific learning disabilities; will learn the ins and outs of the Wisconsin Educator Effectiveness System, the state’s new way of evaluating teachers and principals; and will continue to continue to work on developing strategic compensation packages for employees.

Elliott and the School Board are also still on the hunt for two administrators to round out the newly formed team: a director of human resources and a K-12 director of curriculum and instruction.

What Elliott isn’t going to spend a lot of time on is dwelling on the past. Farner’s departure was followed by those of former business manager Kristin Kollath and assistant superintendent Todd Bugnacki and came after some School Board members and some teachers consistently butted heads with the administration.

That’s all in the past, as far as Elliott is concerned.

“We’re not interested in revisiting the past,” she said. “We’re really looking forward. How do move the district in a forward direction and have a forward lean, and also how do we help and improve student learning? That’s where our focus will be.”

Elliott, 45, who along with her husband Mike, have two children ‑ Emily, a high school senior, and Joe, a sixth-grader – said she feels honored to be back in the district that provided her with her initial teaching opportunity. She said she feels personally responsible for all of the district’s students, as if they were her own, and she’s looking forward to meeting the district’s teachers and other employees.

“We’re a student-centered organization and collectively, we have to take responsibility for helping all kids succeed,” she said. “That’s the message I want to get out there right away.”