Principal, activities director bring experience to local schools
Two new, experienced administrators will join the Delavan-Darien School District leadership team over summer.
Deborah K. Erdmann, principal at Marshall Elementary School in the Dane County Village of Marshall, will become the new director of curriculum and Instruction. She replaces Cora Rund, who announced her retirement this spring after more than 40 years working in education. Rund started with the district in 2012.
Guy R. Otte, athletics director at Mosinee School District in north-central Wisconsin, will hold the title of dean of students and athletics and activities director. He replaces Craig Lodahl, who left the district mid-year for a similar position in the Edgerton School District. Hank Johnson was the interim athletic and activities director and will return to teaching physical education at D-DHS. Johnson will also remain the head softball coach, varsity girls basketball coach and an assistant football coach.
The School Board unanimously approved the new hires at a special Friday.
“I have the utmost confidence in these two individuals to continue the great progress we’ve made in improving our schools,” Superintendent Robert Crist said. “Both came to us very highly recommended. They have demonstrated great accomplishments in their prior work places, have great leadership skills and the right ideas and attitudes to help us continue moving forward. I look forward to them both starting with us very soon.”
Erdmann and Otte will both officially start July 1, but will periodically come in prior to that to become more acclimated with the district, Crist said.
The search for both positions was competitive, Crist said. More than two dozen people applied for the curriculum and instruction position. Forty applicants sought out the athletics and activities director position.
Deborah Erdmann
Erdmann was hired as Marshall Elementary principal in the summer of 2013. Prior to that she was the Response to Intervention coordinator at the West Allis-West Milwaukee School District, where she was also the special education coordinator and a lead teacher. She also has experience as a fifth-grade teacher in Milwaukee and as a special education teacher for middle schools in the Oak Creek and Mequon-Thiensville school districts.
Erdmann has also worked outside of schools, teaching special education at the Racine Youthful Offender Correctional Facility.
Erdmann graduated magna cum laude from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh with a degree in education. She was an outstanding senior award-winner at the school and was listed as a “Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities.” She has director of pupil services and director of instruction and principal licenses through Cardinal Stritch University.
While Response to Intervention coordinator at West Allis-West Milwaukee, the district received the Wisconsin Department of Education’s Response to Intervention Example School award.
Guy Otte
Otte was the athletics and activities coordinator for sixth- through 12th grades in the Mosinee School District from 1995 to 2014 and took the past year off to work toward his administrative school licensure certification.
He has a doctorate in kinesiology and sports administration from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus. He earned his master’s in sports science from Bemidji State University in Minnesota, and his bachelor’s in physical education from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He is a certified K-12 physical education teacher.
Otte plans to complete his educational leadership masters later this year through Marian University in Fond du Lac.
At Mosinee, Otte handled all Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association sports management duties as well as facilities management for the district. He oversaw 50 community education classes in Mosinee each semester and was the local YMCA liaison in the area. He was also a guest lecturer at UW-Stevens Point and was the district’s United Way coordinator and Relay For Life coordinator.
Prior to joining Mosinee, Otte was the head baseball coach at UW-Stevens Point for five years. He was also an assistant football coach for the Pointers and the university’s intramural director. Otte was on the steering committee for the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars professional football team and was a site coordinator for the team’s summer training camp.
Otte taught physical education at Newman Catholic High School in Wausau after graduating from Bemidji State.
Otte likes to be active in the community and is involved with his area community athletic association, chamber of commerce, youth athletics, the Greater Wausau Area Sports Authority Advisory Committee and various professional organizations.
