Norby reflects on 'leaving a profession I love'

Rick Monroe

Special to the Village News

Julie Norby, assistant superintendent of educational services for Fallbrook Union Elementary School District, is retiring after 39 years in public education. Her replacement, Dr. Kimberly Huesing, was introduced at the April 18 school board meeting.

Huesing joins FUESD after serving in the Menifee and Carlsbad unified districts, building a career as a bilingual teacher, principal, director and assistant superintendent.

"Dr. Huesing's extensive experience in the classroom and in district level leadership has prepared her beautifully to continue the great work Mrs. Norby and her team have provided our district for many years," said Superintendent Candace Singh.

Norby joined the Fallbrook district five years ago as the associate superintendent of educational services after working as a teacher, principal and administrator in the Solana Beach School District.

"We are immensely grateful for Mrs. Norby and what she has accomplished in FUESD," Singh said. "We will continue to celebrate Julie's career and achievements over the coming months."

Norby will stay with the district through June 28. The next day she embarks on a trip to Denmark with husband Peter and his extended family. Interviewed last week, she said retirement and travel are certainly things she looks forward to experiencing. Asked what she would miss the most from her career, she hesitated, holding back emotions before replying, "The kids, coming to work every day knowing everything I did was for them."

Her interest in teaching came at an early age – about 6 years old.

"I can't remember ever not wanting to be a teacher," Norby said. "I started modeling it when I was 8 or 9 and would line up my stuffed animals in my room and play teacher, using a chalkboard that I saved my allowance to buy. I never changed my mind about it."

She said it's very satisfying to achieve that teaching goal and beyond. She went from being a teacher to assistant principal, then principal at Solana Santa Fe School in Fairbanks Ranch, where she served for 21 years.

"I always had mentors who would tap me on the shoulder and say, 'Why don't you try this,'" Norby recalled.

"I thought I would retire as a principal, but someone suggested I become a teacher of principals and was hired to be director of instruction for the Solana Beach School District."

Five years ago, the Carlsbad resident took a similar position in Fallbrook. Her most difficult goodbye to the district is "leaving a profession I love so much."

Norby said the most satisfying time during her tenure here was the past two years dealing with the pandemic. "It took an extraordinary effort to look to the future for what's best for the children, without knowing what the future would hold," she explained. "We came together as a team to get to the right place."

At the same time, Norby was challenged to keep morale up, both children and staff.

"The difficulty," she said, "was not knowing what to prepare for – what's next. We needed a flexible system that would work for hybrid, virtual and live models."

The district was among the first in the county to reopen for live instruction.

In her role of assistant superintendent of educational services, Norby said her responsibility has been for anything that has to do with the children's curriculum, instruction, assessment, programs, activities, intervention and other needs.

"As a leader, you're only as strong as your team," Norby said. "I couldn't have succeeded without a great team."

It's a team that will make the transition to Huesing's leadership a smooth one.

"The Fallbrook Union Elementary School District has an amazing reputation for innovative learning opportunities and empowering student leadership," Huesing said. "I am honored and excited to join the team of talented teachers, staff, and administrators who make learning and leading in Fallbrook meaningful for students every day."

"We are grateful Dr. Huesing has chosen FUESD to call home, and we are excited to welcome her to the leadership team," said Singh.