A current superintendent of a Nebraska school district will be the next leader of the Fort Dodge Community School District.

Derrick Joel has been named the next FDCSD superintendent. The FDCSD Board of Education made the announcement on Friday.

Joel has been the superintendent for the Raymond Central School District in Raymond, NE, since 2017. That district has about 700 students. The FDCSD serves over 3,600.

“I’m humbled and honored to be selected to lead the Fort Dodge School District,” Joel said. “My family and I are excited to be part of the District and community. It is bittersweet to leave the relationships we built in the Raymond Central School District but we look forward to building new relationships in Fort Dodge.”

Prior to becoming a superintendent, Joel served as principal at North Polk High School from 2015-2017. He was Ankeny High School assistant principal from 2012-2015.

His past experience also includes teaching at Ankeny from 2009 to 2012. He was a teacher and coach for Tri-County Schools in DeWitt, NE from 2007-2009.

Three finalists were invited to interview for FDCSD superintendent position on Wednesday.. The formal interview day included a meeting with out-going Superintendent Jesse Ulrich and Business Manager Brandon Hansel, two formal interviews with stakeholder teams, a district and community tour and a formal interview with the school board.

At a closed session board meeting at the end of the day, consultants from Grundmeyer Leader Services shared feedback from the interview teams.

The consultants also shared Advanced Insights Profiles completed by the candidates with the school board members and facilitated the deliberation process.

After a review of all the data, the board chose to offer the position to Joel.

“The entire hiring process went very well and led us to three strong candidates,” said Board President Stu Cochrane. “Feedback from the interview teams was instrumental in helping us, as a school board, make the right hiring decision for the district. We are excited to work with Dr. Joel and all he can offer us as a District and what he and his family will bring to our community.”

Joel earned his Doctorate from Drake University in 2017 with his dissertation focusing on job satisfaction of district superintendents in Iowa.

His master’s degree in education leadership was also issued from Drake. In 2007, he earned a Bachelor of Arts from Doane College in secondary education.

During his time at RCSD, Joel received $5 million in grant funds for the district, led a strategic planning process with the board, designed long-term facilities, safety and technology plans, and implemented 1:1 technology for K-12 students. He also developed and modeled a 360 superintendent evaluation system, which was the first of its kind in Nebraska.

Joel is active in the community as a youth coach, education foundation member and TeamMates mentoring committee member. Nationally, he is part of the Urban Superintendents Association of America (USAA), Nebraska Council of School Administrators and Nebraska Rural Community Schools Association.

Joel will begin his duties as the FDCSD superintendent on July 1.