RC Superintendent Tidbits
By: Mark Otten
This week marks the end of my first year as a public-school superintendent and boy has it been an interesting year. I can honestly say I did not expect my first year as a superintendent to be like this year was. I am hopeful that future years will not present the same challenges as this first year, but I know there will be challenges.
I would like to thank all of the classified staff of Rock County Public Schools. I have had to ask them to do more than they have ever had to do and at times, wear a hat that would not normally fall under their position. When asked to do more and be flexible, they all met the challenges head on and continued to work for the kids of the district.
The certified staff also was asked to do more than they have ever had to do. With planning lessons for in-person students as well as remote students and managing everything included with those challenges, their hands were full. Throughout the school year, each teacher stepped up in his or her own way to meet those challenges and continue to challenge students to do their best.
My administrative staff also deserves a lot of credit for helping get us through this year. We have a small team but a mighty team when it comes to administration. Mr. Lorenz, Mrs. Fischer, and myself get caught up dancing on a pretty small dance floor at times but we continue to do what we feel is best for kids. I know there were times when I was struggling physically, mentally, and emotionally and my admin team stepped up for me and showed me the support I needed to get through it. Thank you goes out to them both for their support.
Last by certainly not least, thank you to the Rock County Public School Board of Education. This group of individuals bring unique perspectives to the board and continue to push for the district to keep improving and doing better than we did the day before. We do not all agree on everything as individuals but we do agree that our job is to do the best we can do for the students, staff, district, and community. I look forward to seeing where we can go in the next year and beyond as a district.