ROSE BUD — From Benton to Mount Vernon, Chris Nail has grown familiar with school districts across the state in his 19 years in education. Now, Nail is the superintendent of the Rose Bud School District.
“Every time you take on a new role, it’s always challenging,” he said. “I’m excited about the learning curve and getting to know the community and the school and the teachers.”
Nail, who is from Batesville, was raised surrounded by examples of education professionals. His father was an English teacher and coach for 30 years, Nail’s mother was a special education teacher for 30 years, and his uncle was a superintendent for about 30 years, too.
Before starting his role in Rose Bud on July 5, Nail was principal of Mount Vernon-
Enola High School — a school of 250 students — in Mount Vernon. His nearly two decades in education include a stint at Benton High School, where he served as assistant principal and athletic director.
“The role of a superintendent is taking care of the school, to support, make sure you get all the facilities and equipment that are needed to be successful,” he said. “The superintendent has to build relationships with the community.”
Nail said that in today’s schooling, there is an emphasis on producing tech-savvy students and students with a long-lasting skill set.
“I think education has definitely changed since I was in school 20-something years ago,” he said.
Nail moved from Mount Vernon to Rose Bud a few weeks ago with his wife, Caroline, who will be the new principal at Sidney Deener Elementary School in Searcy; and his sons, Brooks, a rising seventh-grader, and Bo, a rising sixth-grader.
“We’re hoping we’re not doing any moving for a while,” he said with a laugh.
Before arriving in Rose Bud, Nail was familiar with the school district, which has 850 students and 74 teachers.
“I knew that the school had a community backing,” he said. “The community loves the school district here. The facilities are in a really good place. Financially, the schools are in a really solid place. Most importantly, this community loves their school. We have really good kids here.”
Nail said he’s stepping into his new role with a focus on “the three L’s.”
“My No. 1 goal this year is to look, listen and learn all year long,” he said. “By doing that, I’m hoping to build relationships with our students, our administrators and our community.”
His other priorities are to evaluate the school district’s relationship with technology, performance on standardized tests and to “just look at anyway that we can enhance our student daily activities up here,” he said.
“A lot of schools now are going one-to-one, as far as an instrument (computer) for every student,” he said. “I’m not sure when that will happen here. I think we live in a technological age now where everybody has a smartphone. I think that’s a skill that’s really critical.”
The district has already made technological investments, such as providing Chromebooks in all the buildings, he said.
Nail said he wants to focus on learning more about the school board, the Rose Bud community and administrators.
“The school business is a people business,” he said. “It’s all about building relationships and trying to put your students first all the time. … If you put people first, then most of the time, everything else will fall in line.”
At smaller school districts, Nail said, it’s easy to notice how the school is the hub of the community.
“A positive side to being in a smaller district is the community embraces the school,” he said.
Though he’s moved around the state many times for his roles in education, he said each experience adds to his perspective.
“You don’t see things through one lens. You see it through different lenses,” he said. “It certainly helps to take ideas from every school that you’ve been at.”
Nail is currently pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership at Harding University in Searcy. He said he will be finished with the degree in two years.
“We’re excited to be here and looking forward to having a great year,” he said.
Staff writer Syd Hayman can be reached at (501) 244-4307 or shayman@arkansasonline.com.