Spring Hill Middle School Principal Trevor Goertzen was recently selected as one of three 2021 Digital Principals of the Year by the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
In addition to Goertzen, NASSP also honored Marcus Belin, principal at Huntley High School in Huntley, Illinois, and Cindy Sholtys-Cromwell, principal of Kelso Virtual Academy in Kelso, Washington. The award was given for their work using digital media to improve instruction, student achievement and their own leadership.
Goertzen, who has been an educator for 16 years, is known for his energy and passion. NASSP noted that his positivity pervades throughout Spring Hill Middle School, which has 460 students from sixth- through eighth-grade. Fast-growing Spring Hill USD 230 spans portions of Johnson and Miami counties.
Goertzen said the most challenging aspect of the past school year during the pandemic was pivoting from starting in remote learning, switching to hybrid, then to in-person, back to remote and then back to all in-person by the end of January, which continued through May.
“The uncertainty of what was going to happen from week to week was challenging,” Goertzen said. But once the district made a decision on which option to take, Goertzen said his staff “rocked it.”
He said assessments and other measurements showed Spring Hill Middle School students sustained no learning loss. Students were also able to participate in sports and other extracurricular activities. Goertzen said his staff made their top priority tending to the emotional well-being of students. “We did everything we could to help them (students) have an incredible experience,” he said.
Goertzen credits his staff and the district’s leadership in allowing building principals the freedom to make decisions.
Goertzen’s enthusiasm for his job also extends to highlighting the work of other principals. Three years ago, Goertzen started a podcast called “Listen Up!” to interview other principals to talk about the great things they are doing at their schools.
Goertzen has 60 episodes under his belt drawing 300-400 listeners every other week with thousands of downloads. “There are so many talented principals and I want people to know about the incredible things going on,” he said.
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