The South Callaway School Board has named a successor for Superintendent Mary Lynn Battles, who is set to retire at the end of June. District staff got a chance to meet their incumbent leader Monday afternoon when Kevin Hillman made the first of what he said will be many visits over the next few months.
Hillman, currently serving as principal at St. Clair High School, said he is very much looking forward to being a part of the South Callaway Bulldog family.
"I've actually known about South Callaway for a long time. It was always a community that you could see from the outside had a lot of pride in what they do, and I'm excited to be part of that," Hillman said. "I've never had anybody tell me anything negative about South Callaway. ... I was looking to get into a school that had that kind of pride about their district."
Hillman has served in a number of Missouri districts as a teacher, coach and administrator, including Palmyra and a stint at Culver-Stockton College. He told the South Callaway staff and administrators gathered in the high school auditorium that he was "unbelievably excited to be here" and that he has high hopes for what they can accomplish together.
"South Callaway has done an awful lot of great things. I want to come be a part of that, and be part of a district that expects those things," Hillman said. "I'm excited about the possibility to not just be a good school ... I want people to look upon us as the best."