Republic schools gave retiring Superintendent Chance Wistrom a special send-off today in front of Republic High School. Teachers, staff, and community members participated in a drive-through surprise party to wish Wistrom farewell.
Assistant Superintendent Matt Pearce, who will assume Wistrom’s position in a few weeks, said staff members thought it was important to show Wistrom how much his eight years of leadership have meant.
“We felt like it was important to celebrate Chance. He’s so about people and he’s so about kids, and to let him leave, and not be able to celebrate the accomplishments that’s he’s done in his leadership time in our district and in our community, just seemed empty. So being able to celebrate him in an appropriate way, and sending him off in a positive manner, where there’s a human touch, and teachers and kids and colleagues come by and wish him well, that was very important for us.”
Despite announcing the surprise party on the school’s social media platforms and in several emails, the district managed to keep the party a secret from Wistrom. Staff members managed to get Wistrom to the school under false pretenses, telling him they needed to meet about rearranging office space after he’s gone.
“My comment leaving it, which I feel bad now, was, ‘I’m a little worried about the future of our district when we just had to have a half-hour meeting to speak about offices.’ Then, of course, I had to take my foot out of my mouth when I came outside and saw all of this,” Wistrom said.
When Wistrom emerged from the front door to see what awaited him, he was “overwhelmed. To see the trouble everybody had gone through for this, it was just completely unexpected and shocking.”
Wistrom’s tenure at Republic comes to a close on June 30.
