From teacher to principal: Aker shares excitement, goals for new role in Baxter CSD

BAXTER – About 17 years ago, Jason Aker and his wife Renee visited Baxter Community School. Their son Braydon was 1 year old, and they were looking for a place to raise their family and call home.

They did not yet own a home in town. They were not yet a part of the community. But Aker said he wanted to make sure this was the district he and his wife wanted their family to be a part of.

Little did Aker know, he would be preparing to have the same conversations with parents in similar situations more than a decade later. And he would have never have guessed it would be as the elementary principal.

“The opportunity for kids is huge in Baxter and that starts in kindergarten,” Aker said. “We are blessed to be able to look at that and say, ‘We get to watch them all the way through 12 grades and see them leave. We are able to develop a relationship with the kids throughout the whole educational career.’”

The elementary principal position was made available after the district decided to enter a 28E agreement with Colfax-Mingo CSD to share a curriculum director for the 2018-19 school year. Through this agreement, Josh Russell, Baxter’s curriculum director and current K-5 principal, will share the role for both districts, leaving the leadership position at the elementary level open.

According to superintendent Todd Martin, the district initially had 45 candidates looking to fill the position. He said they narrowed it down to 10, then to the final four.

After this rigorous process, the district decided to hire Aker, its Teacher Leadership System coach for the last three years.

“Jason was absolutely the standout candidate,” Martin said. “I have known Jason for four years ... he has been an incredible teacher, an incredible employee here. People respect him ... He was seen as a leader as a teacher, as a coach and now as a district leader in his TLS position.”

Aker, who has worked in education for 23 years, started his teaching career in Des Moines. The longtime educator worked at Harding Middle School and North High School before he and his family relocated to an acreage in Baxter. The Illinois native became a secondary science teacher for the district, and after 10 years in the district, he found himself moving onto a leadership role as the K-12 TLS coordinator.

“Over his three years (as a TLS coach), I think we saw a great growth period in his skill sets. What it came down to is good teaching practices are good teaching practices, whether it be in the elementary or secondary level. Good leaders can pull that out of educators,” Martin said. “Jason was able to do that and has proven that with his leadership skill sets. That is why he is here.”

The TLC coach said after working closely with Martin, Russell and sixth-12th grade Principal Rob Luther, he developed an interest in administrative education. To follow suit, he pursued a master of education in principalship, earning the degree in May.

“I felt leadership is the path I want to go down. A K-5 principal may not have been on my mind necessarily what I thought I would be. I thought I could be a high school principal,” Aker said. “When our K-5 principal positioned opened, I talked to my wife and my daughter a lot about it. We have given a lot to this district. It just made sense. If I could get the job as a K-5 principal, that is something we would like to continue. Our daughter (Olivia) is still in school here, and we wanted to keep our roots here in the Baxter area.”

Aker said he aims to continue to develop, grow and strengthen the academic relationships between teachers, students and the administrative staff, and resume work on solidifying the culture at the elementary level.

“Our district has done a lot, in the last four years especially. Our goals in our strategic plan are set in place. We have done a lot of work as a K-12 district on that. Josh has set a lot of the foundational things in place,” Aker said. “My goal is to continue that, to continue to grow our district.”

Aker said after receiving the news that he will be filling the position in July, he has received a lot of positive support from the community. Although he is currently focusing on his role as a TLS coach, Aker has been sitting in on planning meetings and teacher interviews.

“It is very important to me, with Josh as a principal and me in teacher leadership, that is how the roles finish off the year,” he said. “Josh is continuing to do the work he is doing and I am honoring that.”

Martin said they have not yet decided on how they will address the vacant TLS coordinator position – whether distributing the position’s responsibilities among the current staff or directly filling the seat internally. He said the district is creating a plan in regards to potential staff restructuring.

“We are working out the details. Most of it is on the fiscal side to make sure we can afford to make some changes. But on the other side of that it is about effectiveness. We want to make sure that in terms of the teacher leadership program it improves our district,” the superintendent said. “As soon as we get the structure in place, we will then communicate with our staff what that looks like then begin moving toward filling those vacancies.”

Aker said whether it is as a girls track coach, a community member or the new elementary principal, he is just excited to help continue to grow Baxter.

“Kids that I have taught here now have kids in the district,” Aker said. “They said my kids will have you as a principal while I had you as a teacher ... being in a small town, we understand our job is to take care of this kids and do the best by them so they can be successful in the future.”

Contact Anthony Victor Reyes at areyes@jaspercountytribune.com