Bill DeWitt’s return to the district comes with excitement as he steps into a role as high school principal.
DeWitt, who officially started in his new role last week, worked as a history teacher and wrestling coach in Eudora from 2002 to 2009. In the last couple of years, he was an assistant wrestling coach at the middle school.
Through that assistant position, it was fulfilling to still stay connected to a community important to him.
When he saw the principal opening, he said it felt like the perfect time to move into this next stage of his career. He said he had no desire to go to a bigger district in the metro, and felt most drawn to Eudora.
The adjustment back to the district has been good, he said, especially since he still knows many colleagues and community members.
“One of the advantages here is that you really get to know everybody you interact with so I’m certainly looking forward to that,” he said. “The reality is that I hope people understand that I’m here because I love it here. I want to learn as much as I possibly can about the school and the kids, and just continue to push us to be the best in the area.”
DeWitt said former principal Justin Bogart had also helped make the transition smooth with invitations to leadership meetings and regular communication.
He is looking forward to getting to know more students, staff and families. Getting to coach, teach and mentor students has always felt natural to him, and he is fortunate to wind up back in a great community, he said.
He isn’t coming to the building to start immediately making major changes but rather learn more about ongoing goals.
“My goal is to come in, learn as much about the students, and the families and the faculty here as I possibly can, and take a look at all the wonderful things that we’ve been able to do in this community for the last several decades,” he said.
His family lived in Eudora for 10 years before his return to Lawrence. He got to know a lot of district colleagues during that time and remembers moving to the new high school in 2003.
DeWitt was formerly an administrator with the College & Career Center, alternative academy, adult education, diploma completion and juvenile education center in the Lawrence school district.
He was also an assistant principal and athletic director, but also has experience as an adjunct professor at Newman University and adjunct faculty in the KU Department of Curriculum and Teaching.
He received his doctorate from the University of Arkansas, and also received degrees from KU.
The combination of his 30 years education and about 15 years in administration has prepared him for this role, he said, as well as an attitude for always learning.
Since DeWitt remembers moving into the new high school, it is exciting to see the district continuing to grow through bond construction projects like additional classrooms in the CTE hallway and the addition gym, he said.
DeWitt didn’t expect to see an opening in Eudora when he did. He knows it is somewhere he would love to finish his teaching career, as he is dedicated to serving Eudora, he said.
Superintendent Stu Moeckel said he is looking forward to DeWitt getting to engage with new families and reconnect with those he knew from his prior time in the district. His connection to the area will be “excellent” for the district, he said.
“We know for some of them, they’ll have had three principals in three years, and that can always be a tough transition, but we know that Dr. DeWitt really wants to make Eudora home, and we’re excited to have him hit the ground running,” Moeckel said.
Assistant Principal and Athletic Director Cara Kimberlin said she is excited to work with DeWitt again, as she was in the district when he last worked at the high school.
He’s approachable and communicative, she said.
“I’m excited about it, glad that we had somebody brought in that has been in the district before,” she said. “I think that that holds some validity with our teachers and our community, and so transition wise, I think will be easy.”
Reach reporter Sara Maloney at [email protected].
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