Earning a doctorate is a major achievement, and for Principal Stefanie Novotny, it represents years of dedication to education and leadership. In December, Novotny earned a doctorate in education and educational administration, with a focus on PK-12 leadership, from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, a process that began over three years ago. She began the program while working as an assistant principal at Westridge Middle School and finished in December.
“I knew that if I wanted to go to some of the bigger districts around the state, a lot of them prefer a doctorate. Knowing that I wanted to come back closer to home, which was Ashland, just in between Omaha and Lincoln, I just wanted to make sure that I set myself up to be able to take advantage of any opportunity that might come my way,” Novotny said.
A doctorate is an advanced degree that educators can pursue after earning a master’s degree, often to move into a higher administration role, such as superintendent or assistant superintendent.
“If you want to continue to go up into education, that would be the next certification that you need,” Novotny said.
The path to earning a doctorate includes several steps, starting with a bachelor’s degree and then a master’s degree in education and educational administration. After that, educators may pursue a superintendent certificate and complete doctorate coursework.
“You have to take many different steps to get there. It’s a long process. We started the pre-stuff two summers ago and then there was a whole school year of collecting data, information, interviewing and observing classrooms,” Novotny said.
Most of Novotny’s classes were completed online with additional Zoom meetings and some in-person sessions. This format allowed working administrators to balance school responsibilities with coursework.
“We are all administrators, so it would be very difficult to just go to classes during the school year,” Novotny said.
A major component of earning a doctorate is completing a dissertation, which is a long-term research project. Novotny’s dissertation focused on implementing an instructional model and supporting teachers.
“My dissertation was called ‘From vision to practice, implementing an instructional model for teacher, experience, and leadership support,’” Novotny said.
During the research process, Novotny worked with 20 teachers from both elementary and high school levels. She observed classrooms, interviewed teachers and spoke with students.
“ I got an opportunity to see how they implemented the instructional model and what support they wanted from their administrators,” Novotny said.
While working towards getting her doctorate, she gained a broader understanding of education by working with both elementary and high school teachers
“We never stopped learning, whether we are a student, a teacher or an administrator,” Novotny said.
Novotny now applies what she learned directly to her role as principal.
“I have an advantage as an administrator, being able to go to every different classroom in our school, and not all of our teachers do that. So I can help share some of the things that I learned with our teachers,” Novotny said.
Finally finishing her doctorate was an emotional and exciting moment.
“I was super proud of my accomplishment, and I just wanted to make sure that I set myself up to be able to take advantage of any opportunity that might come my way,” Novotny said.
