Rohrer to become principal of Powell Middle School

Posted 3/22/18

Beginning this summer, Rohrer will lead the school as its principal.

“He has demonstrated for the past six years at Powell Middle School that he makes a positive difference in that school every day,” said Jay Curtis, superintendent of Park …

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Rohrer to become principal of Powell Middle School

Posted

Kyle Rohrer will soon drop “assistant” from his job title at Powell Middle School.

Beginning this summer, Rohrer will lead the school as its principal.

“He has demonstrated for the past six years at Powell Middle School that he makes a positive difference in that school every day,” said Jay Curtis, superintendent of Park County School District No. 1. “… We have 450 kids in that school, and he can name every single one of them and greet them by name.”

Rohrer said he takes pride in knowing kids’ names and values those connections. Even though his job responsibilities are changing, Rohrer said he’ll still make interacting with students a priority.

“I still want to see them thrive inside of the classroom and outside of the classroom,” Rohrer said. “They’re our clientele, so we need to let them know they’re valued.”

The Powell school board unanimously approved Rohrer’s transfer to the principal position at its meeting last week.

He will replace Jason Sleep, who’s becoming the district’s assistant superintendent in July.

During this school year, Rohrer demonstrated his leadership skills in filling in for Sleep, who was away from school with health issues, Curtis said.

“Mr. Rohrer was kind of thrust into the position. He basically acted as principal for a number of weeks throughout the school year,” Curtis said, adding that Rohrer had to solve some difficult issues during that time.

“He really just proved that he had a great cool head, a calm demeanor and was really thoughtful and approached each problem as a true professional,” Curtis said. “He was able to keep that building going as normal.”

Rohrer called it a good learning experience and said it gave him insight into what the job entails.

“It definitely was a preparation year for making that transition,” he said, adding that it made him more confident and comfortable with the position.

Rohrer called it a dream job. After growing up in Worland and living in Arizona for a while, Rohrer said he realized how great Wyoming is and wanted to move back.

“Powell was my number one,” he said.

Rohrer was hired to teach at Southside Elementary School in 2011, and then became assistant principal/athletic director at the middle school in 2012.

Rohrer said he will miss working with Sleep, calling him a wonderful mentor and a man of integrity who always stays focused on what’s best for kids.

“I know I wouldn’t have been ready without having him to learn from,” Rohrer said.

Going into the new job, Rohrer said he wants to maintain and build upon the legacy the Powell school district already has.

Working with great staff, parents and students “makes you want to offer great things to all of them,” Rohrer said.

He’s looking forward to continuing to work with middle school staff and fellow administrators in the district with the goal of ensuring students have “the best learning environment that we can provide.”

Rohrer said one of his goals is to be intentional in helping every teacher to continue to grow in the classroom.

“He’s got some really great fresh ideas on how to take that middle school to the next level, and I believe he will do that,” Curtis said.

Rohrer earned the principal position through a variety of ways, Curtis said, calling it a “natural progression.”

The district had three in-house candidates for the position. One of the screening criteria for candidates was a minimum of two years of experience as an administrator, and neither of the other two had experience as a principal or assistant principal, Curtis said.

To fill Rohrer’s position as assistant principal, a committee will consider a half-dozen applicants from within the district. The goal is to do interviews next week, Curtis said.

If someone from the district is hired for that position, it will create another vacancy. Curtis said the hope is to still be ahead of the teacher hiring season in mid-April.

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