Bob Talbert once said, “Teaching kids to count is fine, but teaching kids what counts is best.”

For the last six-years, Superintendent George Mirich has been concerned with teaching the kids of Niobrara County what counts. Now, he will be bidding farewell to Niobrara County School District #1. The seasoned educator has decided to retire. But, his tenure as superintendent will leave an indelible mark on the district. In 2018, Mirich came to work as the principal at Lusk Elementary/Middle School. However, the district’s superintendent resigned by the end of Mirich’s first year. This development coupled with the fact that the Niobrara County High School principal had been beset by medical issues precipitated Mirich’s segue into the position of superintendent.

“I was the only guy left standing,” Mirich said. “I had demonstrated to them that I was more than capable of doing it.”

When Mirich first took the reins of the superintendent role, the district didn’t have any grade levels that were at or above the state average on the state assessment. Faced with this challenge, Mirich decided that it was time for the district to reexamine its philosophy of learning. According to Mirich, the discussions occasioned by this reexamination were tough ones.

“We spent a lot of time talking about what our actual role is,” said Mirich. “Teaching isn’t enough. You have to be a facilitator of learning. There’s a science to instruction. It’s not just an art. It’s a science as well. You need to be very intentional about what you’re teaching and very intentional about what students are learning.”

According to Mirich, there were also cultural issues that had to be addressed. These cultural issues included expectations of staff, parents, and students.

“Good enough is never good enough,” said Mirich. “We had a lot of trainings and professional development to help in all of the necessary areas. We had to make sure that we were teaching the right things and we worked to make sure that the students were learning them.”

While dissecting the soul of a school district undoubtedly induced some staff discomfort, the approach paid off. According to Mirich, intimations of an upturn were readily discernible within the first year of his tenure. From there, the level of student achievement continued to gradually climb.

“There were elements of improvement right away,” Mirich said. “It was little by little over time. It just kept growing.”

That growth was eventually reflected in the numbers.

“We are now above the state average in 12 of the 16 areas,” Mirich said.

In addition to raising the level of student achievement, Mirich oversaw the computerization of the district.

“We began to bring the district into the 21^st century as far as technology and its uses and application,” said Mirich. “Since I’ve been the superintendent, we’ve moved to a one-to-one district. That means every student has access to a computer.”

Mirich contends that the computerization of the district has prepared students for a world where technology is virtually ubiquitous. 

“Their entire lives are based on computers,” Mirich said. “So, the effective use of them has actually increased time. It’s increased the amount of information that’s now at their fingertips.”

This computerization would prove to be especially profitable with the arrival of 2020. Of course, that year witnessed the COVID-19 outbreak and resultant school closures. Needless to say, the education of an entire generation of students was adversely affected. Yet, under Mirich’s tenure, Niobrara County School District #1 fared far better than many other districts. Mirich attributed this to the district’s preceding computerization efforts.    

“Our district actually did pretty well in comparison,” said Mirich. “We still showed student growth during that time while most districts, even in the state of Wyoming, showed learning loss. We had already moved to one-to-one. We already had the ability to teach on an online platform. Our teachers had been trained and they had already been working with kids in that. So, transitioning to remote learning was a lot less difficult for us than other school districts.”

From stunted student achievement to a pandemic, Mirich has shepherded the district toward brighter days. While most would be discouraged by such adversity, Mirich has actually thrived on it. By embracing the struggles, Mirich has helped the district to overcome them.

“I actually like the challenge of working with a large group of adults and kids on finding ways to improve,” Mirich said. “The goal was always to be better tomorrow than we are today. Not everyone was I agreement that the district needed to improve. Everybody wants change until it’s them that needs change. So, that was challenging, but, at the same time, that was the part of the job that I did enjoy. If it was easy, then everyone would to it.” 

Now that Niobrara County School District #1 has entered calmer waters, Mirich has decided to relinquish the ship’s steering wheel to a new captain. Nevertheless, the recent retiree urged both his crew and their new captain to continue to stay the course.

“There’s a lot of good things happening in the district,” Mirich said. “Improvement is on the upswing and it continues. Keep your foot on the gas.”