Wahluke principal retiring after 40-plus-year career

MATTAWA — Saddle Mountain Elementary Principal Kurt Hoffman said he became a teacher because he wanted to give young people the same type of experience he had in school.

“I had a great time as a student and athlete. I wanted to see if I would be able to do that for others,” Hoffman said. “It just makes sense that you’d like to replicate what you were given as a kid and give that back to kids as well.”

After seven years in the Wahluke School District and more than 40 years in education, Hoffman announced his retirement at the end of the school year.

Hoffman said his original intention was to be a coach and teacher.

“To be honest, I really thought I’d be a coach for a long time. So I was a PE major and coach when I first started, and then I progressed and became a principal,” he said.

The principal’s job was a chance to expand his impact beyond one classroom, he said.

“I got into administration feeling like I would be more empowered to help make things better,” Hoffman said. “I truly believe I’ve been able to do that.”

But the administration also tested his skills and required him to adapt, he said.

“The true challenge of the job, I think, is that there are so many aspects to the job that it’s hard to be good at all of it,” he said. “You have to really work on your strengths and surround yourself with really good people.”

Education has changed – a lot in some ways – over his career, he said, citing the impact of technology among other things.

“I think technology and some different teaching strategies have been good, but I also think some of the old traditional ways were pretty good as well. I think in some ways it’s been better, but in some ways, we need to keep a balance. We really need to continue to see what schools are really here for. I think we have to do a lot in today’s school systems,” Hoffman said.

From his perspective, academics is the area of emphasis.

“I really believe schools are here to grow and to give students academic foundations, so they can truly find themselves by the time they’re done with 12th grade, so that they can truly go out and decide on a career path that they wish (to pursue),” he said. “And that the K-12 system has given them the ability to prepare for that, and have as many (options) as they can have.”

Expanding educational opportunities is one way technology has improved schools, he said.

“I think technology has helped a lot, and different programs have helped expand what we’re able to do and expose students to,” he said.

When talking to new teachers, he said, he emphasizes the value of patience. That’s important throughout the whole system.

“Some of the best advice I ever got was nudging over time, gentle nudging over time instead of mandating big changes. Because I think we can try to do too much at one time and then we really don’t know what’s worked,” he said. “But if you have a method to making some changes in smaller ways, you can actually see the effects of those things.”

In addition, education policy and practices can be complex, sometimes too complex.

“Sometimes I think we try to over-complicate things. I would try to keep it simple – really try to find your foundation for what your true purpose is and spend as much time as you can within that fundamental purpose,” he said.

Hoffman started his career in his hometown of Plummer, Idaho, then became the principal in the Harrington School District. He was a principal in the Lakeland, Idaho, school district, then spent a year with the Upward Bound program at the University of Idaho. He focused on students who were the first in their families to go to college, he said.

But his main interest was the K-12 system, he said, and he took a job as assistant principal at Saddle Mountain Elementary. All WSD schools are on the same campus, he said, and that makes it easier for teachers at all grades to work together.

“(The Wahluke School District) also offers the students a lot of opportunities in different programs. I think it’s pretty incredible what they’re able to offer the Wahluke students,” he said.

Looking back on it, Hoffman said education was the best job for him.

“To be honest, I don’t think I could have a better career choice. Super grateful for the people I’ve been able to work with, the kids, the parents, the challenge of trying to make our schools better for everybody – staff, students – the pace of the job, the variety of tasks that a principal has to do, has been really good for me,” he said.

    Saddle Mountain Elementary principal Kurt Hoffman and his wife Kerri, executive assistant to Wahluke School District’s assistant superintendent. Both are retiring from the district this year, Kurt Hoffman after a career of more than 40 years.