A school can’t operate efficiently without strong leaders that point the students and staff in the right direction. At Yutan specifically, superintendent Mitch Hoffer and principal Brandy Thompson readily filled those leadership positions for the past five and three years, respectively, but both recently decided to step down to pursue different paths in the education field.

Both Thompson and Hoffer had the opportunity to take positions in an educational service unit (ESU), where they will be building and working on the educational programs for students and staff at multiple schools in their area. Thompson will be working at ESU 7 in Columbus and Hoffer will be at ESU 2 in Fremont.

There were several factors that led each administrator to this decision, but an important factor for Thompson was family.

“My children and I will be closer to family. I have a brother who lives in Columbus with his wife, and my dad still lives in Schuyler,” said Thompson, “which puts us only 20 minutes from him.”

Hoffer had similar reasons as well as thinking about the school district and the staff he helped to build.

“The main factor I had to consider was the impact on my family. Does making this move help or hinder my family?” said Hoffer. “Additional factors include the idea of leaving a school district with a first class staff intact. Finally, I had to factor in the idea of change in general…change is hard.”

Because of the timing of their run as administrators, they had some big challenges to overcome. However, they both felt they were able to work through them and accomplish what they needed to in order to create a working environment for the students and staff.

“In my time here at Yutan, we have been able to maintain high quality education for our students through floods, fires and a global pandemic. In addition, I feel that the district is in better financial shape than it was when I got here,” said Hoffer.

While Thompson wasn’t at Yutan for as long as Hoffer, she was still able to complete what she is most proud of.

“I would have to say that my biggest accomplishment here has been working with all teachers and paras PK-12 in implementing a new school improvement process. This process has allowed for collaboration to occur between the elementary school and high school,” said Thompson. “When I first started, it was clear that we needed a more cohesive school improvement process to assist in moving our district in a variety of ways. Out of that one component, we have done a lot of quality things for our students here.”

While goals have been met by both of them, they know that there is still always more work to be done.

“The goals that I had for myself are goals that are ongoing. There really is no finish line. For example, finances were and still are a major goal for me. The district office team has done an incredible job to clean up the process and make our finances easier to follow,” said Hoffer. “I feel we have been able to continue to keep a solid staff throughout my time at Yutan. Some of the goals that are still out there include properly preparing for future growth that is inevitable in Yutan.”

As the school board looks for replacements, Thompson and Hoffer have advice for incoming administrators.

“Get to know the students and the teachers. There is lots of good happening here,” said Thompson.

Hoffer offered similar advice.