Avon School District will have a new superintendent, Paul Kuhlman, starting July 1st for the 2024-2025 school year. After 32 years of teaching in Avon, Paul has decided to make the transition from teaching to a school administrator.

Paul became interested in the superintendent position and applied for the job in December and was interviewed in January. Paul has 36 years of teaching experience and duringthattimehashadmany positive interactions with students, parentsandcommunity members. Those experiences along with the desire to grow both professionally and personally ledPaultowanttotake the superintendent position.

Kuhlmanisanamazingand dynamic science teacher who will be hard to replace in the classroom.Hispositionisopen and the school is in the process of waiting for applicants. Depending on the applicants and their qualifications, he is open and willing to help in any way needed should they not be able to fill the position.

Kuhlman’s undergraduate degree is in Biology Education from North Dakota State University. Paul also has a Master’s degree in Secondary Administration and Master’s degreeinNaturalSciencefrom theUniversityofSouthDakota. Kuhlman is currently a CEO andnotasuperintendent.Heis presently working at completing an alternative certification process so that he can become a true superintendent. Interestingly enough, Paul did not always want to be teacher. It was not until he was a junior incollegethathebecameinterested in teaching as a career.

Kuhlmanwantshisstudents to be engaged and challenged in the classroom. He wants his students to come to class and feelliketheyaremissingsomething when they are not there. Paul’s goal is for his classroom to be a welcoming place for all students. He knows that the cultureoftheclassroomisvery important.Allstudentsneedto be working together as a team andberespectfuloftheirpeers in order to be successful.

When asked what is something that is unique that he can bring to the superintendent position, Paul said that he believes that his 36 years of teaching experience allows himtohaveadeepappreciation forhowhardteacherswork.He has great respect for the classroom teacher;watchingagreat teacherinhisorherclassroom is truly magic. Paul feels that his enjoyment of learning new things and having a great deal of curiosity are qualities that he possesses that will help make him successful in his new role as superintendent. Kuhlman hopes to help the Avon students ask questions and develop a life-long love of learning.

Paul sees his biggest challenge going into his new position being staffing issues. Staffing issues are affecting all school districts. It is difficult to find teachers, especially in certain areas. It is not just teaching positions that are difficult tofill.Otherareassuchas paraprofessionals,busdrivers, etc.,arebecomingincreasingly more difficult to fill.

Paul has goals for himself and the Avon School District as he transitions into his new position. He hopes to be very visible among the students and staff. Kuhlman wants to help develop future leaders out of both the students and staff. When asked if he will be makinganychangesinorderto helpmakeAvonstudentsmore successful, he plans to continue to help the Avon students experience as many academic and extracurricular events as possible. He hopes to be able to instill in the students to “embrace hard” and to “enjoy the struggle”.

Paul feels truly blessed to be a part of the Avon community for the last 32 years. He has hadfantasticsupportfromstudents, administration, fellow teachersandcommunitymembers. Paulisverythankfulthat the Avon School District and thecommunityhaveentrusted him with the superintendent position and is really looking forward to the challenging path that awaits him.

Paul is married to Benita Kuhlman. Benita is a firstgrade teacher at Avon. Since theyarebothteachersinAvon, they can share wonderful conversations and stories over dinner of their school days. He appreciates her support over the past 32 years. The couple has a fur baby named Lucky. Their cat brings them much happiness and enjoyment.

In Paul’s free time, he enjoys coaching softball. He coaches the girls 12U softball team in the summer. He is also a volunteer for the South Dakota Trappers Association. In the fall and winter months, Paul is onthetraplinepursingcoyotes and other furbearers. He and Benita enjoy going to concerts as often as they can and attend North Dakota State University athletic events as much as possible. He is die-hard Bison fan.

Congratulations Paul on your new position as superintendent. Thank you for your hard work and dedication to teaching for the last 36 years.