Lifelong Learning and Visionary Leadership: The Colbs of Reno's Sage Ridge School

Serving the Neighbors of South Reno | April 2014

Lifelong Learning and Visionary Leadership: The Colbs of Reno’s

Sage Ridge School

Cover photo by Paige Wickum, photoWickum

Feature Story

Lifelong Learning and Visionary Leadership: The Colbs of Reno’s Sage Ridge School

Photo By: Photo Wickum

Photo By: Photo Wickum

Norm and Susan Colb are relatively new to Reno, but they already feel great affection for the Biggest Little City. Their very positive feelings about Reno are deeply linked with their roles at Sage Ridge School, Reno’s only non-sectarian, co-educational, college preparatory day school. Norm is the head of school and Susan is a Spanish teacher and librarian at Sage Ridge.

The two have been married for 11 years, and moved to Reno in June of 2013 for the wonderful opportunity to serve Sage Ridge. “We’re having a wonderful time,” says Norm. “Though we moved here for the school and not for the town, we’ve grown tremendously fond of both. Sage Ridge fascinated me from the start. I knew it had a first rate faculty, but it hadn’t had a head of school for three years, and I felt I could help it by providing some steady leadership.”

The couple originally met through extended family. What did they find they had in common? They both share extensive backgrounds in education and a passion for schools. Norm had been an administrator at public schools on the east coast for most of his early career, serving as the superintendent in the Mamaroneck Public Schools in Westchester County, New York, until 1993. With a decade of experience in high level leadership, Norm shifted gears and thought it would be an interesting challenge to move westward for a position as head of school at Menlo School, a well-respected, independent school in Atherton, CA. Norm was attracted by the challenge posed by that unique position. In 1993, Menlo School and Menlo College were functioning as one institution, and they wanted to separate—a difficult situation filled with complexity, tension and intricate financial issues. “I expected to stay for three or four years, but the role was so compelling, I ended up staying for two decades,” says Norm.

4 April 2014

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Susan’s career as an educator began after she attended graduate school and taught for a decade in the Midwest, including roles teaching Spanish and Literature at the University of Illinois and at Purdue. She’s a flexible educator who wears multiple hats. “When I met Norm, I reinvented myself as a sixth grade Spanish teacher,” she explains. “We were lucky enough to find the opportunity for both of us at Sage Ridge.”

A New Role in the Biggest Little City

Norm explains that much of his new role at Sage Ridge involves explaining the key advantages offered by a top flight independent school. “There’s not much of a tradition of independent education in Reno, so meeting with parents and helping them understand what an independent school can offer their children is one of my major responsibilities. I also am committed to maintaining, sustaining and caring for Sage Ridge’s supremely talented faculty and staff. I want to make their work as satisfying as possible.” The seasoned leader’s impressions of Sage Ridge were that it has been on a solid track since its inception and that there was no urgent need for fundamental redirection—rather it needed to bolster what it already offered. “Above all,” says Norm, “I want to maintain the school’s rigorous curriculum, and the support we offer a student who shows a deeper interest in a subject, whether it be in science or in the arts. Everyone is here to service our students, to foster their talents and interests and allow them to fly.”

Aside from the impressively high academic standards, Sage Ridge School is devoted to offering an environment in which members of the faculty cherish the students. “Our kids feel safe with the faculty. They know their teachers genuinely care about them.” Norm illustrates this by pointing to an event that recently took place in the gymnasium, an event that captures much of what makes the school so remarkable. “The middle school girls’ volleyball team challenged our middle school faculty to a game. I had encouraged our faculty to lose, to give the kids the glory of winning. However, the faculty didn’t do well at losing! The kids noticed that the faculty were not playing up to their full capacity, so they retaliated. They simply sat down and refused to play. Can you picture it? They insisted that the faculty do the very best they could. Our kids won’t have it any other way; they thrive on challenge and actively

grades 5-12 | sageridge.org | 775-852-6222Photo By: Photo Wickum

The Good Life | South Reno 5

seek it out. That’s part of the culture that everyone here holds dear.”

Community Partnerships and a Focus on the Future

Susan pointed out that the story also highlighted the school’s delightful sense of humor. “The school offers a balance of academic rigor and extensive programming from sports to drama. Our drama program is award winning, and our students are involved in amazing internships. We are lucky to have a strong partnership with the University of Nevada, Reno. The University supports our students in doing research. UNR gives our kids access to their libraries and provides a venue for them to learn about advanced research and get a taste of higher education—particularly important since 100 percent of our graduates go on to four year colleges. “Susan also admires the school’s community service activities. “Sage Ridge builds strong relationships within the community. Our students volunteer at a local food bank and at shelters. They also contribute amazing amounts of food, clothing and school

supplies to those in need. We adopt families during major holidays and help wherever we can in the greater community. Service is an integral part of the Sage Ridge program,” says Susan.

When Norm first came on as Head of School at Sage Ridge, he explained to the board and to the faculty that his approach might not be what they expected. “There seems to be a tradition in independent school leadership that a new head is supposed to come in and say, ‘Here are all the things that are wrong,’ but what I’ve found instead is a school with very deep strengths. There is no need to redirect this pearl of a school. On the contrary, my role is to help it tell its story and keep it on track.”

The Colbs are enjoying their time in Reno and deeply admire Sage Ridge’s faculty, colleagues, parents, students and community partnerships. “I was thrilled to move here because I love the outdoors, but the school was our reason for moving,” says Susan. “We’re having the time of our lives!” says Norm, and Susan agrees—Reno is a gem, and they’ve found themselves involved with a gem of a school.

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6 April 2014