Going home: OVHS principal reflects before move to Edgewood

Robert Boltinghouse took the lead of the Owen Valley High School Patriots seven years ago, after spending about 15 years as a special education teacher, athletic director, assistant principal and middle school principal in other districts.

In the fall, Boltinghouse will return to Edgewood High School, the school he taught at for eight years and graduated from in 1998, as principal. He hopes to bring the skill set he developed at OVHS, his vision for career pathway development and philosophy of individualizing education for students.

Despite a slightly larger student body and change of day to day scenery, Boltinghouse’s goal stays the same.

“It’ll be the same mission at Edgewood,” Boltinghouse said. “No matter who you are, no matter where you go, leave it better than you found it.”

Andy Cline, Spencer-Owen Community Schools Superintendent, has worked with Boltinghouse since he began as superintendent five years ago. He said Edgewood is receiving a student-driven principal.

“He will be thinking about the kids first in whatever capacity that may be, whether it’s academics, or the arts or athletics,” Cline said. “He will always put those students first. He’ll look to support those kids and their families in whatever ways he can.”

OVHS legacy

At OVHS, Boltinghouse helped develop a career pathway program containing about 20 options that give students the opportunity to tailor their high school education to explore a career of their choice and integrate them into the community to gain experience.

It was a team effort, Boltinghouse said, that required a supportive staff, teachers and guidance department to work together to focus on individual students and interests while equipping them with skills they could use after graduation.

Derek Morgan, S-OCS School Board President, said he thinks of Boltinghouse as a “bold and decisive leader,” qualities that make him an asset for Edgewood.

“He is somebody who sees a problem, and identifies a path forward and pursues that path and goes at it with force,” Morgan said. “He doesn’t sit back and wait for things to get worse.”

Both Cline and Morgan pointed to Boltinghouse’s work to revitalize OVHS through an inclusive culture and fun atmosphere. One project the principal executed was placing bright graphics and phrases around the school. They made students feel seen, like they were a part of something, Morgan said.

“That’s been something he’s worked hard at and something that I think is going to be a lasting legacy in that building,” Morgan said. “I think everybody should strive to make the place better than they found it, and I fully believe that he’s left it better than he found it.”

Boltinghouse said he tried to stretch the money from the school’s Coca-Cola sponsorship to take care of and show appreciation for teachers and revitalize the school. OVHS was in good shape and well maintained, he said, but “very bland and very boring.”

“We wanted the student body to have an identity,” Boltinghouse said.

The project, parts of which used district money and local sponsors, included bright, Patriot-themed wraps on the gym doors, a track and field record board and signs with phrases like “Proud to be a Patriot” and “Patriot Proud.” Outside, at the front of the school, blue channel letters light up to spell “Home of the Patriots,” a way to market the school from State Road 46, Boltinghouse said.

When Boltinghouse first came to OVHS, he would hear people say things like, “What do you expect? This is Owen County,” an outlook he believes stunted students from seeing they could succeed and achieve.

The signage and “Patriot Nation” mantra came from his desire to remind students on a daily basis that they belong.

“They start to build a belief and a pride in themselves, that no matter what they want to do, college, workforce, military, that they could go out and they could achieve those things,” Boltinghouse said. “I think that has shifted. Kids take pride in what they’re doing.”

Plans for Edgewood High School

Edgewood leadership had given him opportunities to return to the school in the past, but it never felt like the right time, Boltinghouse said. This year, Edgewood principal Dirk Ackerman is retiring, with Boltinghouse’s role to officially begin July 1.

Taking the lead of the Edgewood Mustangs this fall felt like an opportune chance to use his skill set in career pathway development and keep the momentum the school already created going. Boltinghouse specifically believed he could help the school bolster its hands-on learning opportunities.

“It’s a chance to go home,” Cline said. “There’s always high expectations going home. Just take the best things that you have and go home and make your hometown better. That’s what I’ve always said to him in our conversations.”

Following some construction down the line, Edgewood is set to be one of the first schools in the state to offer opportunities in robotic manufacturing and the addition of a medical-related wing for a medical pathway program in partnership with Cook Medical and Boston Scientific.

Just like in Owen County, Boltinghouse plans to reconnect with people he knew while growing up in the area and build connections with the businesses and organizations in the community to connect the school and students with chances for experience.

“To be back at Edgewood, I told them in the interview, this is not just a job for me,” Boltinghouse said. “This is something that I take very serious, but it’s also kind of an honor to be back and serve the same community that invested so much in me.”

Making the decision to move schools was difficult and bittersweet, Boltinghouse said. But, the move was about his vision and where the Richland-Bean Blossom Community School Corporation is headed.

“I was definitely not out shopping for jobs,” Boltinghouse said. “I probably would not have left for anything but Edgewood, and it just had to be the right time, right place.”

New principal search

Owen Valley’s search for a new principal is already underway, with about 18 applicants, Cline said. The hiring committee has begun reviewing applications and holding interviews for the position and is expected to narrow down a finalist soon, Cline said.

“He will be missed, and he has made a positive impact on our kids,” Cline said. “But as we move forward, we’ll try and find a person with similar qualities, and who has an endearment towards our community and our kids.”