Niekamp back at the helm

Fort Recovery Schools interim superintendent Pat Niekamp strolls the the hallways of the elementary/middle and high schools on a November day, photographer in tow. He stops into several classrooms, visiting third graders working on their computers, kindergarteners playing musical chairs and sixth graders working on science projects.

He tells all of them the same story: "This photographer wanted to get some pictures of the best looking students in the school, so I brought him to see you."

All of them go for it, smiles beaming, hook, line and sinker.

It's easy to see why Niekamp was the choice to return and lead the school system, if only for a year, when Dave Riel resigned the post during the summer.

"It's really refreshing," said Niekamp, who also used the "best-looking" line on his high school staff, of his return. "It's been enjoyable. It's fun to get to work, again, with the people that I once worked with, because I enjoyed it then. And, it's really fun to work with the people who are new since I've left."

His former colleagues seem happy to have him back.

"It's great having him back again, it really is," said FRHS athletics director Barb Sautbine, who has been working in the Fort Recovery school system for 32 years. "The atmosphere is very positive. ...

"When you come to work, it's enjoyable."

Niekamp was the superintendent of Fort Recovery schools for more than a decade before his retirement in December of 2003. The next year he took a job as an Education Service Center superintendent in neighboring Auglaize County.

He said he wasn't really looking for a new position after more than 30 years in education, but it turned out to be a good match.

In Auglaize County a majority of his job was to help the various school systems work together and share programs that cater to disabled students. He said because most systems do not have a large number of such disabled students, they all can achieve more by sharing with each other.

He also helped guide curriculum as well as school improvement.

"It was an interesting change of pace for me," said Niekamp. "You work with a lot of wonderfully dedicated people."

Again Niekamp wasn't looking to leave his Auglaize County job when Riel announced in june that he would be leaving to become an assistant professor at Asbury College, his alma mater, in Wilmore, Ky. He still had one year left on his contract, which he had planned on finishing and then possibly looking for a part-time position.

But a Fort Recovery School Board member and friend approached Niekamp about returning as superintendent.

"At that point I started thinking, 'Well, I could finish out a year (in Auglaize County) or I could finish out a year here and maybe help do some good,'" said Niekamp. "I checked with my employer over there. They knew they were going to have to replace that position ... and they were fine with the idea."

And then he got the ultimate stamp of approval when his wife, Mary, agreed that the move was a good idea.

"When your wife says that, you're pretty well set," Pat said with a smile.

Niekamp was one in a family of nine boys born to his parents Paul and Dorothy, and grew up just down the road from Fort Recovery in St. Henry. He excelled in athletics in high school and became interested in education through the possibility of continuing his involvement in sports by way of coaching.

As a freshman he played basketball at Division III Benedictine University in Illinois. But a lot of new recruits came during his sophomore season, and he decided to end his athletic career and work nights to help pay for his schooling.

"It probably was a good decision in terms of my ability," Niekamp said.

He stayed at Benedictine through the middle of his junior year, when he transferred to the University of Dayton. Being closer to home allowed him to work his summer job, truck driving, on the weekends, and he graduated as a Flyer.

After earning his degree, he was offered a job in Fort Recovery as an elementary history and physical education teacher. Quickly he began helping out with administrative duties.

"Somebody was sick for a while and they needed somebody to watch the office, and I did," Niekamp recalled. "I basically grew up (in the education field) through this district ..."

In 1975, the school board decided to create the position of assistant principal. At the time, both junior high and high school students were housed in the current FRHS facility.

Niekamp was chosen for that position, which still included teaching half-time, and then became a full-time assistant principal after completing his master's degree in education administration at Wright State University in 1979.

"That was interesting, and I learned a lot," said Niekamp, who also helped oversee West, St. Peter's and Sharpsburg elementary schools. "I think that gave me opportunities to develop administrative skills."

Niekamp became Fort Recovery High School's sixth boys basketball coach in 1978. He led the squad to a sectional championship in 1981 and posted his best single season with a 16-5 mark in '82.

His coaching career came to an end when his climb up the administration ladder continued. The FRHS principal's job opened during the middle of the 1984-85 school year, and he took it with the understanding that he would give up coaching at the close of the year.

He was the FRHS principal for six and a half years, and then was promoted to superintendent in 1991. Ed Snyder followed Niekamp as principal, and the two continued in those capacities until Niekamp's retirement.

"That transition he just made so easy for me," said Snyder, who again served as interim principal with Niekamp for about a month this summer and now teaches part-time at the high school. "He was always there as a great mentor.

"It was great working with him, because I think Pat just does a tremendous job of involving people and being open to ideas. He's what I consider to be a real leader.

"To have him back around again is kind of a neat deal."

In a career than has now spanned nearly 40 years in the education field, Niekamp has seen a lot of changes.

"I think its incredible how much more advanced the high school education is now compared to what it was when I was growing up. And I think it needs to be," he said, commenting about advancements in technology and the global economy. "There are a lot of different things that we are connected with the world that we wouldn't have thought about a generation ago. The education has to reflect those changes."

Niekamp raised his family in Fort Recovery. Each of his four children - Brent, Johann, Tyler and Abby - came through the school system during his years as superintendent.

He said such a situation might not work out for the best in some cases, but it was good for his family.

"When you're (a superintendent) you're busy a lot of times, and there's a lot of time away from the family," said Niekamp. "If I were at a high school at a neighboring school ... then I'd miss a lot of my kids' lives. So that was a good opportunity."

Being in the same buildings with his children allowed Niekamp to be there to see them participate in extra-curricular activities.

Brent, class of 1999, went on to play football at Tri-State (now Trine) University. Johann, 2001, excelled at golf and narrowly missed a state berth. Tyler, 2003, was a state medalist in the high jump as well as a stand-out in basketball, and went on to play collegiately at the University of Findlay. And Abby, 2007, played on state-ranked squads in both volleyball and basketball.

More importantly, Niekamp said his is proud his children attended Fort Recovery schools because of academics.

"I felt like they got a great education. Obviously I'm probably biased," he said with a chuckle. "I never doubted that they were going to get an excellent education here. And their involvement in activities was so much fun and rewarding for all of them."

And now, Brent is back in school with his father again. Less than two years after Pat left the Fort Recovery school system, his son was hired as the head football coach and a history teacher.

"It's been good. I've enjoyed it," said Brent of working with his father. "I guess I had a decent idea of how he did things because he's pretty much the same away from school as he is at school. It's kind of fun to be involved in some things at school with him ..."

Niekamp says he admires not only his son, but all of the young teachers he's had the opportunity to work since returning to Fort Recovery

"What really floors you ... is that the teachers of this generation are so far advanced in the field of teaching ... compared to what we were a generation ago," Niekamp said. "There is a lot, a lot of effort going into making teaching and learning more effective, and you can really tell in the young teachers. ... It's almost like kids with technology and the head start they have. ... In my way of looking at it (young teachers) are wise beyond their age."

It's Niekamp's wisdom and knowledge for Fort Recovery Schools that make him such a valuable resource, especially to young teachers and new employees. Those include FRHS principal Jeff Hobbs, formerly the principal of Sidney and Greenville, who took his current job in August.

Hobbs said having Niekamp, rather than another first-year employee, has helped him immensely in his first months on the job.

"Him coming back ... is a perfect fit for this community right now," said Hobbs. "Learning from someone like him ... his tutelage, his leadership, seeing how he's done things (has helped). He's a first-rate, class guy ... "Being able to lean on him and get his judgment and his thoughts and his feelings ... Who better understands this community from an educational standpoint than Pat Niekamp?

"He bleeds purple. That's what makes him special."

So special, in fact, that both Hobbs and Sautbine said they wish for Niekamp to stay as superintendent for at least one more year.

Niekamp notes that Fort Recovery's schools, like most, are dealing with budget issues in the currently economy. He lists that as one of his bigger challenges in his return to the superintendent position.

Another big issue, he notes, is the future of the high school. The community is examining the options of refurbishing the current facility or building a new one. Niekamp was in the construction supervisor when the school system built its current elementary/middle school facility.

He will also be involved in the search for his successor.

"I guess what I'm hopeful for is that I can be of some help in those processes," said Niekamp. "I look at it as an opportunity to maybe return something for all the opportunities that this community and school district have offered to me over the years.

"As simple as it sounds, what you want to accomplish is to make a difference. If you can affect how something as important as a school system works, if you can affect a little bit and make it work better, then you can make a difference. ...

"Coming back, I'd really say if I can help out in some way, I really feel honored to be asked and have the opportunity to help. It's kind of neat."

[[In-content Ad]]