Regents name superintendent finalists for Iowa schools for deaf and blind

The Board of Regents has announced the names of its finalists for superintendent of the Iowa School for the Deaf and Iowa Educational Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

All three candidates - Mark Draper, director of special education for Green Hills Area Education Agency in Council Bluffs, Steve Gettel, superintendent of the Montana School for the Deaf and Blind in Great Falls, Mont., and Laurie Noll, director of curriculum and instruction for the Burlington Community School District - have extensive experience working with the special-needs populations.

The announcement comes about a week before the board expects to announce its selection to take the reins of the state's two special K-12 schools.

The Board of Regents, which oversees the two schools along with the three public universities, will interview the finalists Wednesday morning during its regular monthly meeting and announce the new superintendent Wednesday afternoon.

The public is invited to meet the finalists early next week - from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday on the Iowa School for the Deaf campus in Council Bluffs and on the same time Tuesday via the Iowa Communications Network.

More information on the Tuesday evening broadcast sites can be found at iowaschoolforthedeaf.org.

Draper, in addition to his position as special education director of the Green Hills Area Education Agency, is an adjunct faculty member at both Creighton University in Omaha and Drake University in Des Moines, and he's on the Executive Committee for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing for the Iowa School for the Deaf, he chairs the Iowa AEA Directors of Special Education and serves on the oversight committee for Collaborating for Iowa Kids.

Gettel has been superintendent of the Montana School for the Deaf and Blind since 2001 and previously served as supervising teacher and teacher of the deaf for the school. In his role as director, Gettel said he leads an executive branch agency with five program divisions and 135 employees that serve preschool through post-high school blind, low-vision, deaf and hard of hearing students.

Noll, as director of curriculum and instruction for the Burlington Community School District, implements basic reading inventory in area middle schools, participates in speaking engagements promoting the school district, implemented walk-through training for all principals and developed assessment policies and wrote state reports.

Community members have said they want the schools' next leader to have a deep understanding of what it means to be visually and hearing-impaired and know how to communicate and relate culturally.

Patrick Clancy, 64, is retiring this summer after leading both schools for less than two years. Before taking on the dual role in 2012, he had been superintendent of just the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School since 2008.

Although the regents were unanimous in their appointment of Clancy to lead both schools, critics expressed concern and even threatened legal action because Clancy didn't know American Sign Language. Opponents also complained about the hiring process, saying the regents didn't allow for public input.

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