KEN ARNHOLD

HHS/HMS PRINCIPAL

Herington School faculty and staff,

It is once again that special time of year when families and friends come together to celebrate Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday- the roasting turkey (or in our case deep fried turkey) with all the trimmings, mouth-watering pies (even pumpkin), and warm laughter. America has remained a beacon for opportunity throughout the world for anyone wanting to escape from poverty and misery.

As employees of Herington Schools, we have many reasons to be thankful. We work in a school district whose residents believe that their school is a beacon for learning and have demonstrated their confidence and support for us in numerous ways. Our children are being taught by an extremely dedicated and professional staff in a safe, friendly environment. We shape and enhance the lives of students and those with whom we work.

I am very thankful for your support, which has helped us to continually exceed expectations and provide quality practices and programs that have earned state and national recognition for our schools. Our students have had high test scores last year, and I know that our teachers, administrators and support staff will continue working to ensure an excellent education for all of our students.

I am very thankful to be living and working (well, sort of working, when you enjoy what you are doing, it is kind of like getting paid to play) in Herington.  I apologize for not getting out into the buildings and classrooms as often as I would like, and hope to do better in this area.  I am thankful for my family and friends, and for being a grandpa.    

I realize that nothing is ever perfect in life, nor is it here at Herington Middle/High School, or with any of us. We can all improve and learn the lessons of tolerance for our misgivings. Compared to other school districts throughout our county, our state, and across our nation, we have so much to be thankful for—and we are. We should never lose the thought and the meaning of Thanksgiving and appreciate what we have here and in our own lives.  Enjoy this time with family and friends, and return rested, refreshed and rejuvinated. Thank you again.

May you and your family enjoy a very Happy Thanksgiving.

Sincerely,

Ken Arnhold, Principal

I am very excited to have been selected to fill the position of Herington Middle School/High School principal.  Although this in a new endeavor for me, it is almost like coming home.

I began my career in education when I student taught at Ellis in woodworking/drafting and speech/theatre.  An odd combination, but those were my interests.  I was offered the position to teach woodworking and drafting in the spring while student teaching in 1978 and got married that summer to my wife, Teri Loder, from Marquette who I met at Fort Hays State University.  I was also building homes in Hays at the time.

Because I had a contractors license as well as a teaching certificate, I was asked to start a carpentry program at Hays for North Central Kansas Area Vo-Tech School, a satellite.  Then I became a contractor representative agent for Heartland Building Centers, and  eventually a store manager at Stockton, Kansas.  When the opportunity arose to go back to the classroom as speech/journalism/theatre instructor and coach, I realized I would have more of an opportunity to spend time with my children so I jumped on it.  

I began classes toward building level administration at Fort Hays State University when I needed to recertify for my teaching license.  Eventually, when I completed my certification for building principal, I started that phase of my life at Miltonvale, Kansas in 1994.  I was K-12 principal in the Southern Cloud district for two years before moving to Marion where there would be more opportunities in extracurricular activities for our three children.  I spent 11 years as high school principal at Marion traveling often to Herington for activities. I put in a lot of bleacher time as my eldest daughter Leah was involved in volleyball, cheerleading, softball, forensics, and band.  We attended the Herington wrestling tournament with my son, Levi as well as football and forensics.  Then came Chelsea, our youngest who, along with being involved in cheerleading, forensics, volleyball, cross country, and track, was also in the pilot wresting program.  

After my children graduated, I decided to try my hand at the superintendency at Ellsworth.  I found myself disconnected from students and spending most of my time trying to figure out how to not cut people and programs.  I spent very little time on improving student learning and assisting teachers to become the best educators possible.  When the Herington principal position became available, I saw an opportunity to get back to an area of Kansas that I was very familiar with and get back into a principal position where I felt very comfortable.

When I started at Marion, Herington and Marion were members of the Cottonwood Valley League which was, sadly, disbanded.  I enjoyed the camaraderie with administrators and coaches in the Cottonwood Valley League as well as attending league band and vocal festivals as well as athletic tournaments, forensics meets and scholar’s bowl competitions.  The Flint Hills league offers me an opportunity to work with principals and coaches in Council Grove and Chase County, as they were members of the disbanded Cottonwood Valley league.

I feel as though I know the community and the culture of Herington from my years as Marion High School principal.  I am looking forward to rekindling old acquaintances and making new friends.