Leader excited for new role at Trout Creek

Preston Wenz will be joining Trout Creek School as the new superintendent. Wenz comes to the school with over 20 years of educational experience, 12 of which have been held at an administrative level. Wenz has served at just about every position in education including substitute teacher, teacher's aide, teacher, assistant principal, principal and superintendent. All of these positions, he says, have helped guide his leadership.

"I'll never forget the educational positions I have served in," Wenz said. "We, as educators, are serving the youth and the community. It is our job to deliver the best educational experience possible and make sure all students are ready for college when that time comes. Our service is what helps shape our community and society. What educators do daily is extremely important."

Wenz comes from a superintendent position in northeast Montana before his time spent in Texas. In 2004, he received his bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies from University of Houston-Victoria. As a graduate of University of Houston-Clear Lake, Wenz received his master's in educational management in 2006. "I have been certified through the years EC-4 generalist, 4-8 generalist, k-12 special education, principal and superintendent," Wenz said. "I currently have my principal and superintendent certifications in Montana and Texas. My teaching certificate was originally given in Texas after graduating."

As Wenz finalizes his plans for the start of the school year, he says he is looking forward to getting back to what he calls "educational normalcy" as students go back to face-to-face instruction with no distance learning. "Masks are going to be a parental decision, as they should be," he said. "All educators and students are facing a gap in education from the last two years and we need to get back to good old fashioned in-class instruction and fill those gaps as quickly as possible through solid educational delivery and team effort."

Wenz will be coming to the area with his wife Alicia, who will teach pre-K in Trout Creek. Their three sons will also be joining them. Their youngest son Levi will be a sophomore in high school. "Levi will be participating in football, track and wrestling," Wenz said. "Zachary is our 23-year-old son and does helper jobs and Samuel, who is 22, serves as a military police officer in the Montana National Guard. He's looking forward to starting his career as a police officer in this part of the state if it all works out."

Wenz started his new position on August 11 and says he has been enjoying every minute of being in the area surrounded by the mountains. He says his family loves the outdoors and credits that to being one of the reasons they already feel at home in Trout Creek. "We had been to the area this past spring and fell in love with its natural beauty," he said. "We love to hunt, fish and be outdoors. This area offers everything we love to do. Everyone has also been super nice and helpful so that makes the welcome feeling even stronger."

The superintendent knows there are challenges in education and looks forward to addressing them head on. "We in education face challenges in finance, enrollment, staffing and the list goes on," he said. "In Trout Creek, we are not immune to these."

Wenz says enrollment is down and that is a big area he wants to address and fix. "We have a lot to offer at Trout Creek School and we will be stepping up our service all the way around, starting with the first day of school," he stated. "We need to address what has not worked and fix it immediately while expanding on the many positives that are working right now. The home of the Eagles is and should be, a proud beacon in the community. We owe it to the community and area to deliver a high level of education and we will be doing just that. Our school will have a safe and fun learning environment and the students will succeed."

Wenz wants parents and community members to know they can reach out to him at any time as he is looking forward to their involvement. "I want our families and the community involved in what is happening at our school," he said. "I encourage folks to reach out to me, especially if they have left the school. I would like to know how things could have been better or what could have been done differently."

Equally, Wenz and his wife want to be involved in the community. "This is our home. We want to serve on committees and help with events and organizations. That is what being part of a community is, we help each other. We want to help with whatever we can."

Wenz can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 827-3629.