We are honored to share the story of the extraordinary Nicole Goodman, Superintendent of Scuola Vita Nuova Charter School.
Nicole Goodman knew she wanted to teach since second grade. As a child in Davenport, Iowa, she spent summers climbing into dumpsters behind local schools, pulling out discarded workbooks, teacher editions, and half-used supplies. She stacked them carefully so she could climb back out, then carried them home to build her own classroom. She was building her lessons and her own school.
Teachers in her life recognized her curiosity early on, encouraged it, and gave her a sense of belonging that extended beyond textbooks. These educators who guided her didn’t just inspire a career choice; they modeled the kind of learning environment she would spend her life working to build.
The First Team
Nicole went to Simpson College, a private liberal arts school, where she studied elementary education and played volleyball, basketball, and softball as a Division III athlete. Sports gave her structure and taught her leadership skills that still guide her today.
“Being part of a team taught me discipline and how to show up for people,” she said. “You learn quickly that everyone has a role, and the team only succeeds when everyone is supported and held to high expectations.”
The campus was challenging academically and felt unfamiliar culturally. Nicole was one of the few students who looked like her, but she refused to believe she didn’t belong.
“Some little things that people said. They weren’t little, they were big racially, but I got through it,” said Nicole. “I rose to the occasion.”
Playing the Game from the Inside
After graduating, Nicole worked as a substitute teacher, helped run youth programs at the YMCA, and took on leadership roles through mentoring. She later taught elementary students in Des Moines, the St. Louis area, and Omaha Public Schools. Earning a master’s in educational administration, Nicole expanded her classroom experience because she believed that good leaders need to understand teaching firsthand. She taught first through sixth grade, and looped with the same students for several years to build trust and improve her teaching.
When she became a principal for the first time, her grandfather asked a question that stayed with her. “They let Mexicans become principals?”
The comment reflected years of exclusion and disbelief. Nicole understood its roots. As a Mexican-American and the first in her family to go to college and break the cycle of poverty, she grew up facing segregation and discrimination.
Nicole recognizes the pain of that history, but she also sees another side. She stresses the importance of looking beyond our own experiences to grow, learn, and connect with others.
“We need to stop segregating ourselves,” she said. “We have to change the narrative. We have more in common— we’re more alike than people realize. We’re all trying to be better. I think there’s more good in this world than not. But again, it’s the narrative that’s out there, the perceptions shaped by the media and the stories that are shared about us— about people of color.”
A New Life
In 2011, family circumstances brought Nicole to Kansas City, where she joined Scuola Vita Nuova Charter School (SVN) during an unstable period. She didn’t initially know the school was at risk of losing its charter.
SVN has welcomed Kansas City’s Northeast neighborhood for over a century. It began as the Italian Mission in 1908, supporting Italian immigrants, and was revitalized in 1999 as Scuola Vita Nuova by Judge Charles Shangler, who applied for and received permission to open a charter school for students in the community.
Today, SVN enrolls approximately 360 students in grades K–8 and operates as a true neighborhood school, with 80–82% of families living within a two-mile radius. The student population is evenly split between Hispanic and African American students (44% each), with a significant Somali community. Many students are English learners.
“Families already cared deeply about their kids,” she said. “Our job was to make sure the school reflected that belief.”
It is important for SVN to create a school culture that honors students’ languages, identities, and lived experiences.
Belonging as the Work
“It’s about belonging,” Nicole explained. “You belong here. Who are you? What’s your identity? Not just who your parents are or where you come from, but who you are, and how we help kids believe in themselves and the impact they can have on this world.”
Over time, under Nicole’s leadership, the school went from probation to becoming one of Missouri’s top-performing charter schools. In 2013, Nicole was named Missouri Charter School Leader of the Year, with SVN’s students making big academic gains under her leadership.
Since then, Nicole has been named a finalist for KC School Leader of the Year, 2021 Kansas City Charter School Leader of the Year, LatinX Education Collaborative Chair Award winner, and Kansas City Royald Buck O’Neil Legacy Seat honoree.
Nicole aims to lift people up, remove barriers, and create a school where students feel valued and can see themselves reflected in what they learn. Nicole’s leadership has put teaching and learning at the center of the school’s efforts to improve. She focuses on helping teachers and staff grow, challenges negative assumptions, and shows that excellence and compassion can go hand in hand.
“I’m motivated to change that narrative to make sure that all people, all kids have access to high-quality education facilities, the best of the best,” said Nicole. “And when you have the best of the best, you’re going to create an environment where they can thrive.”
Building the Village
Before the school improved academically, SVN struggled without a permanent home. Using temporary or shared spaces reflected its uncertain future and made it hard to show families a long-term commitment.
“Everybody in the building, including custodians, contributes to making this a great place for kids,” she said. “It truly takes a village.”
Nicole made facilities a strategic priority. In 2014, the school moved into a new facility. The goal was more than just getting extra space; it was about having a permanent home. Students and families gave input for years, helping decide how the space would be used.
“When kids walk into a space that was designed with them in mind, they understand something immediately,” Nicole said. “You matter here.”
Advocacy Begins with Urgency
But having a permanent building was only part of the solution. Nicole knows that even the best work inside the school can be at risk if the outside systems don’t change too.
In 2016, the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education turned down SVN’s plans to partner with Crossroads Academy to create a high school. SVN responded by growing in a different way, adding kindergarten, first, and second grade that year, and promising to add one more grade each year after.
“Our kids don’t have time to waste,” she said. “That’s always in the back of my mind. This isn’t good enough yet because time matters for them.”
Over time, Nicole has become a well-known leader across the state as chair of the Missouri Charter Public School Association board. In this role, she helps make decisions, supports charter schools, and stands up for schools serving tens of thousands of students, especially those that don’t receive fair resources.
Nicole has advocated in Washington, D.C., written about the realities of charter education, and built relationships with policymakers and peers, always grounding discussions in classroom outcomes and student experience. Her advocacy helped secure a 2022 funding victory, bringing unprecedented support for Missouri’s charter schools and new facility bond dollars for SVN and others.
The girl who once built a make-believe classroom from old textbooks now leads a school built on inclusion, high standards, and belonging. Nicole continues to gather what others leave behind and turn it into something meaningful.