School Leader From Kansas Hired As New Nashua Superintendent

NASHUA, NH — The Nashua School District has a new school superintendent.

Stephen Linkous, the chief of staff of the Kansas City Public Schools, has agreed to lead SAU 42 beginning in July after “an extremely comprehensive superintendent search,” Jennifer Bishop, the president of the Nashua of Board of Education said. He was one of 14 applicants for the job and was chosen out of three finalists. Linkous has served in a number of different school roles including assistant superintendent, principal, and teacher.

“Nashua came together to complete 3,000 leadership surveys and clearly identified what our community is looking for in our superintendent,” Bishop said. “Nashua is an excellent place to live and we deserve an excellent leader, which is exactly what I believe we have found.”

Linkous said he was “extremely excited” to have been selected and looked forward to moving to New Hampshire soon.

“I believe we have a great staff, community, board of education, and most importantly great students,” he said. “I look forward to listening, collaborating, learning, and leading as we continue the excellent work in many areas, and as we create excellence in others.”

Bishop said the nationwide search by the district’s consultant really found “the cream of the crop” that was out there looking for advancement and opportunity while matching the desires found in the surveys. Many, she said, brought a lot of school experience but limited superintendent experience. The city’s families in the surveys, Bishop said, wanted a leader who was “early in their career” and was “looking to settle into a district,” while bringing energy and enthusiasm to a city that has so many demographics encompassing its education system.

One major issue mentioned in the survey was the need for better communication. Bishop said, when addressing the issue, “everyone was fantastic.” However, Linkous “was really focused on listening … we didn’t feel like he was coming in to impose what he thought was happening in the district” but, instead, was willing to take in other ideas, collect them, and move everyone forward.

“We were very lucky,” she added.

While Linkous is not certified to be a superintendent in New Hampshire, the New Hampshire Department of Education has an alternative pathway for certification that assists applicants in becoming qualified for badly needed positions. School superintendents are one position in the alternative pathways sector.

Linkous earned his superintendent’s licensure in Kansas at Wichita State University last year, according to his LinkedIn profile. He has a Master of Arts in general educational leadership and administration from the University of Denver and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Park University in Parkville, Missouri.

Linkous has been the chief of staff for the Kansas City Public Schools for a little less than three years. Before that, he was the assistant superintendent of the Roosevelt School District in Phoenix, Arizona, for a little less than a year and a half. For nearly four years, he was the principal and school support officer at the Hartman Middle School in Houston, Texas. Linkous also served as the Director de Escuela (principal) of the Kepner Middle School in Denver, Colorado, for three years.

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