Welcome Back!
Our staff looks forward to the new school year beginning August 11th. We are fortunate where we live and our kids go to school. If you don’t believe me, watch the world news. There is a lot of turmoil and tough times for a lot of people. Problems seem to be ongoing and no one is immune to problems.
Our mission at school is to offer the best education we can and keep the kids and staff as safe as possible while doing so. We want our students to grow into positive, responsible citizens as they live in a free society. Where their views take them in life, is for them to figure out. This will be year 33 for me here, and my mission at Diller-Odell Public Schools, it is to advise students to be involved in activities, do their best, don’t disappoint people, be a good person, work hard and play hard. To go further, I made shirts for the HS students a few years ago that read LOOK GOOD, SMELL GOOD, BE GOOD, DO GOOD.
As we get closer to having our facilities ready for the start of school, we have made some progress in “decluttering” things that had not seen the light of day since the merger 22 years ago. Summers are very busy with updates, and work on the roofs, plumbing, HVAC, electrical, floors, buses/small vehicles, painting and carpet cleaning. As busy as it has been, we are yet waiting on the installation of new student lockers at the elementary school. We look forward to the update. Unfortunately, the delivery and install was not possible this summer. We hope to have them installed on Sept. 22-23 when we don’t have school.
I am very proud of the accomplishments we have made and look forward to future success as we move forward. As my time here gets closer to an end each year, I promise I will leave the place better than I found it.
As I grow older I realize how important it is to surround yourself with great people. Hiring quality people is a huge part of my job. The following is a quote by Pat Bowlen that I believe best describes my leadership philosophy. I printed it as part of a welcome back letter in 2014 and again last year, but……… one more time;
“Leadership is not about micromanagement, pushing others aside and doing everything. Nor is it about sitting on a throne and issuing edicts. Leadership is about empowering others and setting an example to follow."
My management style is probably part Henry Blake from “M*A*S*H” and part Michael Scott from “The Office.” However, we don't have a problem hiring new staff at Diller-Odell Public Schools. It is a testament to the school and to the communities that people want to work here. It is not that way everywhere. Diller-Odell Public Schools welcomes four new staff members for 2022-23. Karlee Haecker will teach third grade and be an assistant track coach, Carly Vitosh will teach fourth grade and be an assistant volleyball coach, Tanner Nun is our new Ag instructor/FFA sponsor, and Kaitlyn Ruhge is a new para at the elementary. Please make them all feel welcome and comfortable at our school.
We like stability at Diller-Odell Public Schools and hope our new staff are here for years to come. Stability is one of our core strengths at Diller-Odell. It has been important that our School Board, administration, teachers, and support staff have had stability. Good programs have consistency. Programs that struggle are always looking for the next best thing.
I sincerely believe that school should be a positive, fun place for all involved. My hope is that it is indeed that for everyone. Have a great 2022-2023! It will be Christmas before you know it. Get me something nice.
Go Griffs
M. Meyerle