As he nears the midway point of his first school year as Sidney’s superintendent of schools, Daniel Farr said the new position has been stimulating for him.

“It’s been absolutely refreshing,” Farr, who had been a high school principal for 20 years, said. “It’s challenged me to work in areas I haven’t had before. It’s been good, I’ve enjoyed it.”

Better communication between the school and the community has been a goal for school officials. Farr said the school’s Web page is being overhauled. When completed, the site will offer more information than ever to parents. The site will feature updated blogs to tell the public about school closures. Parents will have the opportunity to determine the amount of information they would like to receive including such materials as the weekly bulletin and school board agendas. Parents will also have the ability to receive updates on their e-mails or cell phones.

Another way that school officials have improved communication was a cross-over exercise held in September. Sidney School Board trustees, parents, students, teachers, business owners, senior citizens, farmers/ranchers and others met to discuss what they view as the strengths and weaknesses of the Sidney School District.

Three top concerns were overcrowding at West Side; developing and providing incentives, evaluations and accountability for all K-12 staff; and building better community relations.

“I think we’ve made progress in each of those three,” Farr said.

The superintendent said each of the three school buildings have done some excellent things during the first semester. The addition of high school principal Dan Peters to the community has been positive.

“Dan is doing an excellent job. I’ve heard nothing but positives from staff and the community about him,” Farr said.

editor@sidneyherald.com