Superintendent Retiring After Four Decades in Education

(KNSI) – A Central Minnesota school administrator is calling it quits after more than 40 years in education.

Sartell-St. Stephen Superintendent Jeff Schwiebert is stepping down at the end of the school year to retire.

Schwiebert started teaching in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, in 1981 and would go onto become the superintendent. In 2014, Schwiebert was looking for a new challenge and applied for the job in Sartell.

“And I was lucky enough to get an interview. And lo and behold, I got offered the job. And it’s been the best job I’ve ever had. It’s really been a great place for my wife and me. We have had multiple opportunities to do things within a community that we hadn’t been able to do.”

Schwiebert talked about what he enjoyed most and will miss most as he walks away.

“That’s the kids in this district and the support those kids get from their parents, making being an educator in this town a very powerful thing. And so you like that kind of support that you get from the community.”

He says the biggest challenge in his career has been dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

“I’m very proud of the way our people responded to that event. We have done everything we tried to do to make sure our kids would stay safe. And our staff would stay safe. That’s a big deal to me that our folks have stepped up and got the things done in a very, very challenging time.”

He says one of the most significant accomplishments besides getting through the pandemic was passing a referendum to build a new high school and renovating other buildings to accommodate the district’s growing population.

Schwiebert says he and his wife will take about four weeks off for some vacation time and plan to spend a lot of time at their lake cabin in the Hackensack area.

He says they will look at all of their options but will likely move back to Iowa because that’s where his kids and grandkids live.

Schwiebert’s last day is June 21 at the Sartell-St. Stephen School Board meeting.

There will be an open house on June 16 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Blackberry Ridge Golf Course.

It’s a chance for the community to say goodbye and wish Schwiebert and his wife the best.

Schwiebert will be replaced by Jeff Ridlehoover who was hired by the school board. Ridlehoover is the assistant superintendent in the Mounds View School District.

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