Meet Mr. Mock

CASTALIA– This isn't Dennis Mock's first rodeo in leading a school district.Before coming to Margaretta Schools on Aug. 8, Mock was chief of Genoa Schools for 21 years, retiring in 2015. He then served as interim superintendent at Wellington Schools for the 2015-16 school year. But he's happy to be working closer to Huron, a place he's called home in recent years."We've enjoyed this area. We've always enjoyed Erie County, so it worked out pretty well," he said.And in the last 40 years, he's also served as a teacher, coach and principal for Bettsville and Woodmore Schools."If you get into the large schools, it's difficult to become kid-oriented and I enjoy that aspect as much as I like getting to work with administrators and staff, he said. "Just getting to know the students and getting to know their families and getting a pulse on what's important to the students and letting them put a face with a name and be out in front (is important)."Mock felt comfortable taking the reins after former superintendent Dan Schroer took Springboro Schools' superintendent position Aug. 1. The Register asked Mock a few questions:Q: You knew Jude (Hammond, district treasurer) from way back, but was there anything else that drew you to Margaretta?A: I knew Ed Kurt, who was the superintendent here prior to Dan. I knew Ed well; I knew a few of the former administrators and teachers because we were in the same (North Point) ESC when I was at Genoa, so therefore I had a few people I knew.I've always heard great things about Margaretta as far as the community support and the image and that's proven to be true in my first week and a half. There's a lot of pride in the district, a lot of people interested in a quality education.Q: Since you've been a superintendent for a long time and have so much experience, what's the most important thing you've learned?A: Build a trust and probably be upfront with the community and the staff, and maybe number three is communication. The more you can communicate the positive things — obviously there are going to be negatives — but you have to put a little more emphasis on the positive and make sure your stakeholders understand what your vision is, what your perceptions are.Another thing is let them know the entire story, just not bits and pieces because in every small community, the school is the hub and it is the focus and that's the good thing about a small school district in an immediate area where the people are in tune to what's going on.Q: Do you consider those to be your top values as you get to know people in the community?A: I think probably the main thing is that I'm kid-oriented. I do want to be in the buildings, especially at the beginning of the school year to see the daily operations. Not that I'm there to change anything, I'm there to just see what the daily operations are, what the interaction is between administration, staff and students, review the transportation and the routines and just make sure that if there's any assistance I can offer them. I'm certainly open to do that.Q: Are you going to plan any community events where you talk to community members?A: I've requested a list of community organizations and I know we have an active Rotary and an active Lions Club. Those will be a couple that I certainly will tap into. I'll be in a lot of activities so I'll be accessible. They're going to see me on the 20 yard line at the football game or in the corner of the volleyball or basketball season. I'm also interested in the workings of the Townsend Community School and how that fits into the overall scheme of the district.Q: What are the top three things you want to accomplish this school year?A: One would be to focus on the finances of the district and to know where the five-year forecast is going to lead us.Second would be negotiations because those have an immediate effect on the five-year forecast.Three is academics and the report card and making sure that we need to align in with the new tests given last year. A lot of school districts did not perform well on the AIR test, but it was all new. Not only was the test new, but the answer sheets were new and until you're able to get a good overall picture of that test, that'll be one of our key issues.Q: Is there any chance that you would be interested in applying for the full-time position?A: …If the board's happy with me. I've enjoyed beginning here. I think there's a lot of positiveness in the district and if they're interested in pursuing a longer term (with me), I'd be open to that.Dennis Mock, interim superintendent of Margaretta School District, poses for a portrait next to the polar bear near the Board of Education on Wednesday, August 24, 2016.