UNION CITY, Ohio — While teachers at Mississinawa Valley still have some time before the new school year begins on Aug. 28, Jeffrey Winchester is already making preparations.
Winchester, 51, currently the high school principal, will now also serve as the district’s interim superintendent. He was approved as interim superintendent at the school board meeting held on Aug. 1.
“Everything has happened suddenly,” said Winchester, not wishing to speak for the school board, but anticipates a search for a superintendent to begin in the spring next year.
As was previously reported, Doug Dunham, who served as the district’s superintendent since 2016, has retired.
Winchester will serve from Aug. 1 through the school year to July 31, 2020.
“I’m looking forward to it,” said Winchester who has served as either junior high and high school principal for the district going on 12 years. “It’s going to be a challenge, but we’ve got a lot of good people here at Mississinawa Valley.”
Winchester hopes to bring stability to this transition year, noting he has a lot of support from staff, the community, and his family.
A native of east-central Indiana, Winchester holds a bachelor’s degree in history and master’s in educational administration from Ball State University. He completed his superintendent licensure from the University of Dayton.
Winchester currently resides in Greenville with his wife of 20 years, Larissa, and their son who will be a freshman at Mississinawa this year.
While Winchester has worked in several school districts in two states, he finds the MV district of approximately 700 students, by far the best.
“I don’t say that lightly, and it’s because of the people here, this school and this community,” said Winchester. He also wanted to reassure everyone the school will be ready to go and open for business as usual on Aug. 28.
For Winchester, the ultimate goal is to have the district in a better place a year from now.
“That’s my number one goal,” said Winchester.
