RUSSELLVILLE, Mo. - New Superintendent Perry Gorrell already was familiar with Russellville, visiting his fiancée and attending events there.
Gorrell spent the past 18 years in the Cole Camp School District, first as high school principal and the last 10 years as superintendent.
His "ship was sailing well" at Cole Camp, he said. But when the Russellville job opened up, he decided the stars had aligned for a new stage in his life.
"I'm excited to be here; it's a great school district," Gorrell said.
Gorrell quickly settled into Russellville life, renting farmland nearby to expand his cattle herd.
With two new ag teachers coming to Russellville High School, Gorrell said he will be available if needed. But he expects the challenge of having an almost all new faculty at the high school to take his time.
Working with a new high school principal is another opportunity, he said.
"It will be OK," he said. "Change is good."
However, Gorrell said he will take a look at the reasons for such a high turnover. Some left for higher salaries and others left for new career opportunities. But he wants to see what he can do to make the Russellville district a place where teachers want to stay in the future.
Another matter Gorrell will watch is the MSIP5 and exemplary PLC performance. The last several years, the district has seen impressive growth in its assessment points, due mostly to improvements from the previous year. At 99.6 percent, those numbers likely will not see much improvement, but instead, the district will need to work harder toward maintaining those numbers long-term, he said.
"My job is to educate the community that we're still doing great things, though the points may not reflect it," Gorrell said. "APRs are snapshots in time. You can have great things going on in your building that are not reflected in the scores."
Gorrell also will consider the ongoing transportation needs, based on a reduced reimbursement from the state and an aging bus fleet.
He grew up on a family farm north of Sedalia, and he still farms with his brother. Moving cows and building fences is part of his therapy, he said.
In high school, he expected farming would be his career until his father urged him to attend State Fair Community College. At a professor's urging, Gorrell earned an agriculture education degree from the University of Central Missouri.
After his first year of teaching at Marionville, Cole Camp called him to fill their ag teacher position. There, a principal encouraged him to get his master's degree in administration.
That sent him to Otterville High School as principal before returning as high school principal to Cole Camp.
"I've been fortunate that different individuals have seen something in me," Gorrell said.