When Jerry House moved to Whitefish, he planned on leading the life of a retiree. Instead, he leapt to the head of the class as the superintendent of Whitefish School District. That was seven years ago. This month, House was awarded Montana Superintendent of the Year for 2006-07. House received this award at the Montana Conference of Education Leadership in Great Falls held October 17-19, 2007.
House was nominated from the Northwest Region, and out of Montana’s nine regions, he was selected. “I am very honored and proud to have this award and to know that my peers voted for me,” said House.
“He truly sees a bigger picture and is a futurist in thinking and planning,” said Curriculum Director Bobbie Barrett. Former Principal, Kim Anderson, added, “Jerry has demonstrated his dedication to our staff, students, community, and fellow administrators that he cares for them, because he is willing and able to do whatever is necessary to constantly keep our school district moving in a positive direction.”
Influenced by his cousin, House began college studying civil engineering, but after a year and a half changed his major to education. Because of his passion for baseball, which he played all through college, House dove into coaching–baseball, basketball and most every sport imaginable, including cheerleading–while teaching U.S. History. Before moving to Whitefish, House worked in the same school district in Washington State for 29 years, 10 of those as superintendent.
This February, House will be attending the American Association of School Administrators Conference in Tampa, Florida. “I am excited! There will be thousands and thousands of people watching as I walk across the BIG stage,” said House. All 50 states, the Virgin Islands and the Dominican Republic’s superintendents will be publicly honored, alphabetically, by their location to show all the recipients.
From among the state winners and picked by a select panel, the association will award the National Superintendent of the Year.
Guest contributor Julia Williamson is a senior studying journalism at Whitefish High School.