Arlt returns to Ritzville School District as principal

Ritzville Alumni Tom Arlt has returned to the Ritzville School District as the principal for the upcoming school year. Arlt is looking forward to the opportunity to return to his hometown, and also help strengthen learning within the Ritzville Grade School and Lind-Ritzville High School.

Arlt’s interest in becoming an educator began during high school, when he found passion in leadership and working with children. He worked as a counselor at Camp Wooten and realized his interest in guiding youth to accomplish goals.

He said all of his high school classmates assumed he would become a farmer, but his grandfather encouraged him to attend college and pursue a degree. Farming is a tough job, Arlt said, and his grandfather knew it would only become harder for the future generations, so Arlt moved forward to earn an education degree.

After graduating from Ritzville High School, Arlt attended Washington State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree. He immediately went to work for the Lake Stevens School District, east of Everett, as a counselor and special education administrator. He spent nine years working for the district, which had nearly 12,000 students.

Arlt made the decision to move on to obtain a Master’s degree in education from City University. He then switched schools to the Granite Falls School District, a school of 2,700, where he worked on grant funding and special programs for the district.

He then received his Master’s in administration, while completing his internship as a principal at Granite Falls.

In 2007, Arlt moved to Colfax and assumed responsibilities as the Colfax School District principal. He worked within the elementary and junior high portion of the district, and after seven years, made the switch to Ritzville when the opportunity became available this summer.

Arlt returned for his 30th class reunion last year and said he enjoyed being back in the community. When Arlt saw the opportunity to return to his hometown, he knew it was a change he had to take.

While Arlt has had the chance to work in bigger districts, he said he is at a point in his career where he was looking for an administration position in a smaller district: a place where he could stay long-term and one day retire from.

He said his heart has always been in Ritzville, and moving home to continue his career is an opportunity he is grateful to have.

Arlt’s family settled in Ritzville in the late 1880s, and his parents Tom Sr. and Mary still live here, as well as other family members. Arlt said returning to his hometown where his family is helps make the experience special, and also ignites his passion to bring stability and strength to the school district.

Arlt said the opportunity to return home was aided by his wife Jenny’s career, as she is able to maintain her position in management for sales at McGraw-Hill Publishing. She manages the west coast accounts, and flies regularly to the company’s headquarters for meetings, but is able to maintain a home office.

Together, the Arlts have one son Tyler, who served four years in the military before graduating from the University of Washington.

With his enthusiasm for returning to his hometown, Arlt said one of the biggest difficulties will be to curb his passion as he realizes changes need to occur slowly. He wants to ensure he remains active in the community, but is a consistent pillar in the school to guide the district towards stability.

Since Ritzville has a similar demographic to Colfax, Arlt believes he will transition fluidly into the role as principal, and guide the district towards accomplishments in academics. During his seven years in Colfax,

Arlt was instrumental in implementing a variety of curriculums, which helped the district test in the top five percent in the state.

His main goal is to help the Ritzville School District also excel in the state testing arena.

Arlt said he is looking forward to the start of school, mostly for the chance to meet the students. With a strong teaching staff in place at both the grade school and high school, Arlt is confident the district is ready for a successful school year.

Though it will be an adjustment for Arlt to work between a grade school and a high school, he is ready for the challenge. His one goal for himself and the district while he is principal, is to provide support to the staff members and consistency for the parents and students. He is determined to work hard for the district and help them onto a path of consistency, especially when the district has seen turnover with principal positions recently.

Arlt said he is always working to develop a strong dialogue between himself and the staff members. He plans to meet with each staff member individually to discuss what they believe are the strengths of the district, as well as areas that could be improved.

Over the course of the year, Arlt will continue to work with staff members on a regular basis to create a school improvement plan. His goal is to implement the plan in the future to help all staff members and administrators work toward the same goal: improving student learning.

There will be some changes in place by the time students return for the new school year. Arlt said at the grade school, the reading and writing curriculum needed to be updated.

For students in kindergarten through fifth grade, they will now be studying through Reading Wonders, a Common Core program the Colfax School District piloted and then implemented in the school. Arlt believes the program will have the same success locally as it did for students at his previous district.

Arlt said while he is currently focused on finding a new math teacher for the high school, he is also looking to find ways to provide variety in classes for high school students pursuing science or math. He is hoping to implement digital learning classes that could provide students with Advanced Placement (AP) classes or other types of enrichment courses.

For Arlt, the most important part of being an administrator is to ensure educators are providing support to students who need it, maintaining informative and interactive classes in all general courses and also implementing enrichment opportunities for students who need additional challenges outside of the common curriculum.

Arlt said he is looking forward to the school year, and is ready for the challenge to provide the district with strength and consistency, which can only be achieved with the assistance of the staff and the community.

To contact Arlt, email [email protected] or call the high school office at 659-1720.