Three Cape school district administrators earn state awards
Three Cape Henlopen School District administrators received awards June 28 during the 20th Annual Policy & Practice Institute: Delaware's Conference on Public Education at Dover High School.
Dr. Jenny Nauman earned Assistant Superintendent of the Year honors from the Delaware Association of Assistant Superintendents; Dr. LouAnn Hudson was named an Outstanding Administrator by the Delaware Association of Curriculum and Instruction Supervision; and Oliver Gumbs was recognized as Outstanding Administrator for the Delaware Association of School Business Officials.
Nauman was selected by her colleagues in the newly formed Delaware Association of Assistant Superintendents. She has been the Cape district assistant superintendent since 2018. “I wholeheartedly support and endorse Jenny Nauman as Delaware’s Assistant Superintendent of the Year,” said Dr. Edward Small, Delaware Association of Assistant Superintendents president. “I have known Jenny since our first day of undergraduate study at the University of Delaware. She impressed me then and she continues to impress me to this day. She has served as a mentor for me as I navigated my first year being an assistant superintendent, and I have valued our opportunities to connect.”
As assistant superintendent, Nauman works to ensure all students in the Cape Henlopen School District are successful by focusing on equity, inclusion and the use of high-quality instructional material. In 2016, Nauman was named National Distinguished Principal for Delaware, and she also received the Terrell Bell Award for Outstanding School Leadership. She is active in the Delaware Academy of School Principals and the Delaware Association of School Administrators, where she is currently president, advocating for all students, teachers and principals across the state.
Hudson serves as director of teaching and learning for the Cape district, where she started in 2018 as supervisor of instructional support. “The curriculum, instruction, assessment directors from across the state select a person to recognize each year who has distinguished themselves both in their district and for the work DASA accomplishes in partnership with the state,” said Dr. Tammy Croce, DASA executive director. “Dr. Hudson re-established the group in 2017 after several years of inactivity. Her leadership has been instrumental in growing the curriculum, instruction, assessment division of DASA.”
For the last two years, Hudson also served as the Cape district’s COVID coordinator, acting as a liaison between the district and state entities including the Delaware Division of Public Health and the Delaware Department of Education. She also managed the internal COVID policies, procedures and mitigation strategies the district put in place in an effort to keep students in school. During this time, Cape was the only school in the state providing in-person instruction five days a week to elementary students.
Selected for his award by his colleagues serving in the Delaware Association of School Business Officials, Gumbs is director of finance for the Cape district, where he has worked since 2008. In this role, he oversees the district’s financial business-related items. Gumbs also assists with management of a $176 million budget and allocation of various resources. “Oliver is very deserving of this recognition,” said Dr. Jason Hale, Cape district director of operations. “He has represented the Cape Henlopen School District and the state as an experienced financial leader for many years, and provides exceptional fiscal stewardship to our community. This award is a testament to the level of respect he has throughout the state.”
“The Cape Henlopen School District is proud to have three of Delaware’s outstanding administrators on our team,” said Superintendent Bob Fulton. “The fact that these awards are given and voted on by their peers is testament to both their knowledge and dedication not just to their profession, but to the students, families and staff in the district. It’s an honor to be surrounded by and work directly with such a talented group of individuals.”
