Rick Wolf, the new superintendent of Dayton Independent, has spent more than 24 years in the district. Submitted photo
Rick Wolf began his education career in 2000 as an English teacher and has worked at Dayton Independent Schools for the past 24 years.
On July 1, Wolf started his 25th school year as the new superintendent.
“We have made some wonderful strides over the last few years and my message to the board when I was getting interviewed was that I want our kids to be great,” said Wolf. “I want everything we do to be great and to build towards creating that greatness for our students in all areas.”
Having held various positions within the district, Wolf was most recently the director of teaching and learning for Dayton Independent, taking the role in 2013. Previously, Wolf taught English from 2000 to 2009, was the dean of students and the athletic director from 2007 to 2009, and then served as the high school principal.
He said he looks forward to this new role in Dayton Independent and working within all areas of the district and all grade levels.
“We need to implement systems and processes within our district and find the things that we are already doing well and make those district-wide,” said Wolf.
Before school started, he met with his employees to get an idea of what was being done well and areas that needed work and to give his staff, educators and administrators a chance to voice their ideas.
“I met with all my employees in small groups to just kind of talk about things that we can continue doing, where we should start going and what are things that we should stop doing to simply just get their thoughts and input,” he said.
To work with not only those employed in the district but also community members and families, he plans to host Parent Partnership Days, an opportunity for parents and families to be involved in their children’s education.
“If we are going to take away from instructional days for Parent Partnership Days, then we need to ensure that we are meeting with 100% of our parents and families, collaborating with them to see what works best for their student; what are their strengths and what can we work on to create those opportunities,” said Wolf.
With a passion for education, his students, families and community, Wolf said over the years he has built relationships with graduates who have gone through the district, and he looks forward to continuing to create opportunities to give his students the skillsets to become successful.
“I can’t say that I am going to be the greatest superintendent ever, but I can assure you that there will not be a superintendent that cares more about their community than how I care about this community,” he said.
Wolf said that he wants to find ways to help all the students in his district, keeping the culture of saying yes.
“We already have a culture of saying yes, but I am going to work hard for these families and these children to give them whatever opportunities every other school district has and make sure it is going to benefit our students,” he said.
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