Brockman takes over at PVHS in fall

Students returning to two Pahrump area schools Aug. 11 will be greeted by two new administrators.

Nye County School District (NCSD) officials announced this week that Pahrump Valley High School Assistant Principal Chris Brockman will assume the principal’s position as the new school year arrives next month.

NCSD Superintendent Dale Norton announced the decision in a press release this week.

“Please join me in congratulating Mr. Chris Brockman who has successfully applied for, and been hired as, the principal for Pahrump Valley High School beginning with the 2014-2015 school year. We look forward to the administrative leadership he will provide for the benefit of the students attending Pahrump Valley High School,” the release stated.

NCSD Trustee President Traci Ward has known Brockman for many years.

She said the high school will benefit from his style of leadership.

“Chris was a great choice. He’s got a lot of experience and all of the students know him, which makes the transition much easier,” she said.

Norton described the selection process, which he said was seamless.

“We had a screening committee set up with teachers, district staff and board members. They screened all the applicants and brought forward the top candidates to me to review and interview. I had my assistant superintendent and administrative assistant sit down with me to go through the interviews. I’m very proud of the comments that the candidates made about our process because they were very impressed with our people, district and the entire process,” he said.

The district also announced the new principal of Floyd Elementary School.

Von Sheppard, who arrives in Pahrump from Boulder, Colo., has more than 20 years of experience in education. He has served in education in three different districts and at the university level.

According to his business profile, he has been an assistant superintendent, a principal at the elementary level, as well as assistant high school principal.

Sheppard joined the Boulder Valley School District (BVSD) more than six years ago where he oversaw 20 elementary schools.

Prior to his work in Colorado, Sheppard was a high school principal in St. Paul, Minnesota from 2001 to 2005.

He is credited by his peers for helping to turn around a school plagued with drugs, violence and teacher turnover.

A few years after his arrival, teacher turnover and student absenteeism rates slowed while test scores steadily rose.

Norton, meanwhile, said he’s thankful the district had the summer break to find suitable replacements for the vacant positions.

“It makes it easier when it happens at the conclusion of a school year where you have that time during the summer to do that rather than doing it mid-year,” he said.

District officials plan to announce the hiring of a principal at Gabbs School later this week.