Cindy Hansen GS'17 leads with faith, community, and vision for her school district

Over twenty years into her career as an educator, Cindy Hansen GS’17 continues to make an impact in students’ lives. This fall, one effort even garnered national attention. Hansen appeared on a segment of “Good Morning America” that highlighted the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and actor Matthew McConaughey’s Green Lights Initiative, a foundation that helps schools like Hansen’s Jasper County R-V School District in Jasper, Missouri, secure vital government funding.

With support from the Green Lights Initiative, Hansen secured funding through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to establish a student-faculty walking program. “It makes a difference if kids feel seen and heard, and the impacts of that will extend far beyond this time and place in the lives of those young people,” Hansen says on the “GMA” segment. The funding has also supported technology and curriculum improvements in the district. Though grateful for the grant’s impact on her district and the positive attention it brought to Jasper, Hansen views it as just one piece of her larger work in education.

“Somebody saw something in me”

Hansen’s path to teaching stretches back to high school, where she experienced a “light bulb” moment while tutoring her peers in math. That spark guided her through 11 years in the classroom, teaching kindergarten, first grade, and sixth grade. She never considered a career in administration—until a superintendent recognized her leadership potential and encouraged her to pursue becoming a principal. “Somebody saw something in me that aligned with the strengths that would be needed in that type of job,” she says. “It was enough of a motivation for me to pursue that.” Today as a superintendent, she strives to be a leader who calls out others’ strengths and God-given talents. “Being good stewards of those gifts and strengths means helping people see that in themselves and encouraging them to pursue those paths,” she says.

Like many educators who receive a similar tap on the shoulder, Hansen recognized her potential to expand her impact. “Excellent teachers impact the lives of students in their classrooms,” she reflects, “but excellent principals and superintendents have the potential to positively impact even more students—and other educators.”

A faith-filled education and community at Bethel

After years of serving as a principal in Illinois, Hansen and her family returned to Minnesota to be closer to family as her husband’s work with a mission organization required frequent travel. Hansen enrolled in graduate courses at Bethel—where her three sisters had studied—to gain extra credits to qualify for her Minnesota principal license. After experiencing Bethel’s supportive community, Hansen decided to earn her Ed.D. in Leadership in K-12 Administration. “The people made the program great and not only gave me skills, but also the encouragement that this is good work, and this can be God’s work that you’re doing in public education,” she says.

At Bethel, Hansen found a community of faith-centered educators who showed her how to live out her faith in a public-school setting. “To see people live that out and realize it can be done—seeing them do that really, really well was an encouragement,” she says. Although she serves in public education, Hansen’s faith remains a constant driver in her work. During her time in Illinois, she organized a prayer group with local pastors and school staff to pray for the schools. Now in Jasper, she collaborates with a community leadership team primarily comprised of local pastors. And she speaks openly about her faith—a reflection of its integral role in both her career and family.

Learning alongside students

After earning her Ed.D., Hansen soon returned to Bethel as an adjunct professor in the Ed.D. program, where she often teaches each summer. Along with courses like Leadership and Theory Foundations and a writing course, she now serves as the academic writing program coordinator. Hansen finds the dual roles of superintendent and professor to be mutually enriching. “I think my work at Bethel makes me a better superintendent, and I think being a superintendent helps my work at Bethel—they just inform each other all the time,” she says.

She deeply values the opportunity to learn alongside Bethel students, who offer diverse perspectives from around the globe and various educational backgrounds. “I'm really grateful for the opportunities at Bethel, just to hear from them,” she says. “And one really neat thing about the Ed.D. program is it draws students from all over the country and all over the world, so you get a really great perspective about what education is, what it looks like in lots of different places.” As a working superintendent, Hansen is able to provide insights for students to help connect theoretical knowledge with real-world application. “Just being able to make those practical connections is really important, and I think it reminds students of why they're working so hard to get that doctoral degree,” she says.

Grant-writing and community building in Jasper 

After 11 years in the classroom and over a decade as a principal, Hansen is now in her second year as a superintendent in Jasper. In this role, she’s found that finance and grant-writing have become important parts of her work. For superintendents in small, rural districts like Jasper, the reality of limited resources means finding innovative ways to meet students’ needs. When her first application for Bipartisan Safer Communities Act funding was denied, Hansen sought assistance from the Green Lights Initiative, which helped her tailor the grant to meet specific state and federal guidelines. One subtle but important revision required her to describe the student-faculty walking initiative as a “program” instead of a “club,” a small adjustment with big implications. She also learned how to frame and contextualize data around things like the district’s demographics, discipline, and attendance.

The grant has allowed Hansen to create a morning walking program that meets each school day from 7:15 to 7:45 a.m. Snacks are provided before students and staff head out for a walk together, providing a unique setting for building relationships outside the traditional classroom environment. “If we can make one day better for one child, the effort is worth it, and we have certainly done that,” Hansen says. For some students, the walking program has quickly become a favorite part of their day, helping build stronger peer and adult connections. “The whole intent is to help kids build positive relationships here at school, either peer to peer or peer to adult, so that they can engage a little more easily in their learning,” Hansen says.

The program’s informal setting also benefits school counselors and other staff, who find it a natural way to connect with students. “If there is something bothering them about school that we can help with, we want to know that so that we can address that for them,” Hansen says. Walking side-by-side offers students a comfortable space to share what’s on their minds and helps counselors learn more about how to support them.

Building confidence to serve

As Hansen continues into the school year, she’s doing the very best she can for the kids in her district every day. “I’m grateful that we get to serve them and their families,” she says. And she remains driven by her faith and thankful for the role Bethel is playing in her career. “Bethel has done a great job of preparing me for this role and my previous roles as well,” she says. “And it also has provided a really strong network of support for me to be able to serve.”

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