If you hand Aaron Hermiller a 1,000-piece jigsaw, he’ll dive right in — because for this self-described “puzzle nerd,” he enjoys seeing every piece click into place. Beginning July 1, (pending Board approval on May 14), Hermiller will bring his talents for solving complex challenges to a brand-new puzzle: guiding the students and staff of Graham Mesa Elementary to even higher levels of success.

Hermiller will take the reins from the current Principal, Brian Sprenger, who resigned earlier this year.

Currently a fourth-grade teacher and instructional coach at Wamsley Elementary, Hermiller has spent 11 years in Garfield Re-2 in various roles, including classroom teacher and academic coach. He holds a Bachelor of Science from Ohio State University, a Master of Science in Education from the University of Findlay, and his Principal Certification is from Western Colorado University.

Hermiller has always seen building leadership in his future.

“A leader is there to help people succeed, and that’s what I like to do. I think that my life’s work is to help other people get to where they want to be, whether it’s kids or adults,” he explained.

Growing from an elementary teacher to an academic coach and building leader, Hermiller said that becoming a Principal was the next logical step.

“I think being a principal is where you can make the most impact with kids,” he explained.  “It’s not the direct impact that teachers make, of course, but the decisions that you make, the conversations you have with families, community members, stakeholders, teachers–that’s where you make the most impact with the most amount of kids. When I’m in a classroom, I can impact 30 students, but a principal gets to impact 430.”

Although he is committed to his students at Wamsley Elementary, he is eager to embark on the next adventure and build upon the excellent existing structure at Graham Mesa.

“GME already has a strong foundation of family engagement and positive culture. Families are in the school to support their students. The staff is amazing and wants to see every child succeed,”  he explained, and he would like to expand on that success.

“The vision for me is that (Graham Mesa) becomes a school that other schools look at and say, man, look at the things that they’re doing. How can we do things like that? Look how happy their kids are. Look at how the teachers have moved into leadership positions on their own. We aim to be a leader in the district, inspiring other schools to follow suit. We also want to be learners, so if we see something that other schools are doing that’s really great, how can we make that in the Graham Mesa way?”

Being a farm kid, Hermiller says hard work is part of his DNA and he is ready for the next challenge in his educational career.

“I love being a teacher so much, I don’t mind the extra things. You will see me at the baseball and soccer games supporting our students. I like seeing the kids outside of school so they know that they are supported.” 

On April 18, three Principal finalists went through an extensive interview process that included an interview with outgoing Superintendent Heather Grumley, Assistant Superintendent Lisa Pierce, and incoming Superintendent Kirk Banghart, and interviews with 2 teams consisting of staff, parent/guardians and administrators. The day was capped with a meet-and-greet reception, where students, family, and community members asked questions of and provided feedback about the candidates.  

“We had three exceptional candidates for the Graham Mesa Elementary position,” Grumley said. ” It was a difficult decision. Mr. Hermiller has a deep understanding of best practices in education, has an exceptional grasp of student data, and is an emerging leader in Garfield Re-2. I am confident that his experiences and commitment to meeting every child where they are will help Graham Mesa Elementary find even more success in the future.”