Logan County Superintendent Dan Costellow began his new role on Jan. 1.
Photo courtesy Logan County Schools
Returning to his hometown decades after leaving, Dan Costellow came back to take the position of superintendent of the Logan County Schools. He started his new role on Jan. 1.
“It’s just neat to go back and be a part of something that feels so familiar,” he said.
Growing up, Costellow went to Chandler’s Elementary School and graduated from Logan County High School.
Upon graduation from Western Kentucky University, he worked for 25 years in the Warren County school district in various positions, including agricultural teacher, middle school assistant principal and elementary school principal.
“Most recently, I worked at the Green River Regional Educational Cooperative supporting the school and district-level educators in a variety of roles across more than 50 Kentucky school districts,” said Costellow.
Costellow said it has always been a professional goal to get back to his hometown and if he were ever going to be a superintendent, it would only be for Logan County.
“I told the board when I interviewed that this would be my only application for superintendent,” he said.
Over the last few weeks, Costellow has been able to visit schools within the district and said he was thrilled to see familiar faces and places.
“It just feels really good to get back home, walking around and seeing people I’ve known forever,” he said. “I have just found that the students are so welcoming, and they’re so kind. They just love their schools, and their parents have been the same way.”
Costellow said he is grateful for this new position and looks forward to working with others in the district to support education within his community.
“As leaders, we’re supporting and developing people and helping people maximize their abilities, so I think this will give me more freedom and more opportunity to do that than ever before in my career,” he said.
Costellow said he looks forward to visiting with families, staff and students throughout his time as superintendent and is ready to listen to those within his community.
“I’m the newest person in the district, and they’ve all been there longer than me. So, I need to hear about their experiences and their thoughts and work with them collectively to make decisions that will benefit the whole district,” he said.
Having experience in his various roles, Costellow believes in building positive relationships and said it is the key to success and will be one of his priorities as he steps into this role.
“At all levels, decisions that you make every day as an educator can impact the life of a student for the rest of their life, and this one potentially more so than others,” said Costellow. “I’ve had the opportunity to influence students at all levels throughout my career, and during this opportunity not only will I have an impact on students, but on staff and programs and to help a district that’s already great, be even better.”
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