Native son takes charge of VW schools

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent writer

From homegrown student to teacher and coach, to administrator, and now, the top spot. That’s the story of new Van Wert City Schools Superintendent Mark Bagley, who officially took charge of the school system August 1.

Bagley, a 1989 Van Wert High School graduate, has replaced Vicki Brunn, who retired and relocated to California to be closer to family. Brunn officially announced her retirement in January and Bagley was chosen by the school board from a pool of 16 applicants in March. In fact, Bagley learned the news the same day schools were closed because of COVID-19. Even so, he hit the ground running and hasn’t stopped since then.

“From that point on to now, even though I was the middle school principal, I’ve been in a lot of meetings that involved superintendents, so I’ve learned a ton from lots of different people,” Bagley explained. “It’s been unique in a lot of ways, from having my first superintendent’s job to having it during a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. It’s certainly been a huge learning challenge.”

Adding to the challenge is the fact that, while his first official day was Saturday, Bagley has basically served as acting superintendent for the past two months.

“I moved into the office around June 1,” Bagley explained. “Vicki gave me a lot of guidance along the way, and obviously I’m very fortunate to have Bill Clifton next to me, with all of his experience as a high school principal and as assistant superintendent. Bill gives a lot of wisdom and guidance, and we do a lot of things together.”

Bagley obviously is no stranger to Van Wert City Schools. After graduating from Van Wert High School and Taylor University, he spent his first two years in education in Ottoville, then returned home to teach math at Van Wert Middle School for eight years before spending the next 17 years moving up the administrative ladder: elementary principal, assistant middle school principal, and middle school principal. In addition, he was a longtime assistant to former boys’ baskeball coach Dave Froelich, then served as head coach for six seasons before stepping down after the 2018-2019 season.

Even with that kind of experience under his belt, Bagley admitted he didn’t envision himself sitting in the superintendent’s chair until last December, when he had a talk with his wife, Rachelle, son Drew (now a sophomore at Taylor University) and daughter Maria (now a sophomore at Van Wert High School).

“I thought I’d be a middle school principal for the rest of my career,” Bagley said. “I just loved being around the kids, I loved the leadership aspect of being a principal, and I really didn’t have any intention of doing that (becoming superintendent), but when Vicki announced she was retiring, I really soul-searched over Christmas break.”

“I used that Christmas break to talk to my family and explain that I was going to go all-in if I was going for it and my family was very supportive,” Bagley continued. “I bleed scarlet and gray and I thought here’s an opportunity for me to really be a servant leader in our district. The timing was right, my family was supportive, and things worked out for me.”

Bagley, who has a three-year contract, noted he’s the fourth Van Wert City Schools superintendent in five years, and he said his goals include providing some consistency and ways to provide a unique education for all students.

“We had Ken Amstutz for 10 years and we were very stable and then we had an interim in Staci Kaufman, then Vicki was here for two years so looking ahead to the future, I want to provide leadership and stability,” Bagley stated. “But it’s not about me, it’s about the aspect of doing things differently than we used to do in education, where kids are getting hands-on experience from a variety of areas, such as project-based learning or our CEO Program. We want school to be what real life is like and that’s my dream and vision for Van Wert City Schools.”