Stebbins Grad Named Principal

By HERE ABOUTS BETH ANSPACH

When Ron Flohre graduated from Stebbins High School in 1977, he never imagined he’d end up working there as a teacher, much less an administrator.

But when the 2008-09 school year begins in a few months, Flohre will be Stebbins’ new principal, the capstone of a journey that has taken him from the Stebbins Indian football stadium through the classrooms and halls of both the school he knew and the new school he knows today.

As a young man with a passion for football, Flohre, who grew up in a bustling household of 11. After he graduated from Stebbins, Flohre pursued a degree in physical education at the University of Dayton.

“I played football at UD and was on the national championship team in 1980,” Flohre said. “But when I graduated, I found there was a real shortage of PE jobs.”

He heard about a position at Daymont West — they were looking for a teacher for children with severe behavior problems — and he began his teaching career there.

“My brother was teaching kids with special needs and I decided to get certified in that field,” Flohre said. “I’ve always enjoyed working with those kids and helping them to succeed. It’s genuinely rewarding when you see them ‘get it,’ and they are learning.”

Flohre continued teaching at Daymont for three years and also coaching football in Kettering before his “Indian spirit” called him back to Stebbins.

“The administration knew what I was doing so when they had an opening for a special needs teacher, they contacted me,” Flohre said.

Many decades later, Flohre has been part of the transition from the original Stebbins High School building to the new modern facility and has seen changes in the student body and in the program.

“In 2001, I decided to finish my master’s degree and interviewed for the assistant principal position,” Flohre said. “I had been coaching and in the classroom for 17 years, and though it was a tough decision to leave, I knew I could help more kids in an administrative role.”

After taking over the reigns of assistant principal, Flohre remained the head of the special needs program, and also took on the responsibilities of attendance, discipline and extracurricular activities, including his beloved sports programs.

“After I gave up coaching, I continued to attend at least one event for each sport,” Flohre said. “I always appreciated seeing my principals at my games and I think it’s important for students.”

In January, Flohre was named interim principal, after the departure of Todd Nichols who left to take a superintendent position elsewhere in the state. And, after school board approval last week, his position became permanent.

Flohre is only the second Stebbins graduate in history to be named to an administrator post.

As he looks forward, Flohre is proud of the school he’ll now lead, saying every member of the student body, every teacher and every staff member is also a leader.

“We have a unique school system in this area,” Flohre said. “All of our courses are now college prep and our career school allows us to keep our Riverside-area students in the community.”

Stebbins has always offered a vocational program that helps train students for careers while they are still in high school. With programs such as engineering and medical and automotive technology, as well as marketing and digital design, nearly half of the 2008 graduating class received full scholarships to Sinclair Community College.

“I’m looking forward to moving our school to an excellence rating, improving our OGT (Ohio Graduation Test) scores by at least 2.5 percent and increasing our graduation rate to at least 90 percent,” Flohre said.

His plans include targeting at-risk students and helping them discover their strengths.

Today, as Flohre walks the halls of Stebbins, he often thinks about his life as a student all those years ago.

“I just walk around and say, ‘Wow,’ because it’s like I tell my students with pride — once an Indian, always an Indian. I want them all to experience what I have. It’s not easy — you have to work — you have to endure, but everyone can be successful.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 475-8212 or banspach@woh.rr.com.

(c) 2008 Dayton Daily News. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.