After 34 years in education, which included being a teacher, coach, athletics director, principal and superintendent, Tim Meister is retiring at the end of 2022.
A graduate of Liberty Center High School in 1985, Meister earned his bachelor’s degree from Defiance College and master’s degree from Bowling Green State University. He taught and coached at Stryker Local Schools, Worthington City Schools and Bryan City Schools, where he was also athletics director, and then served as the principal of Archbold High School. He has spent the last 11 years of his career as superintendent of Four County Career Center.
Reflecting back on his career, Meister said he has been blessed by the people surrounding him.
“Any success in any jobs is the result of having really good people around you,” he said. “For me, I always revert back to the number of really good kids I’ve had, the administrative team I have, the staff and teachers, the people who work with me.
“I’m just so fortunate and, every time I reflect on that, I always come back to that single thought,” he continued.
Meister added he feels there’s been more attention paid recently to career tech programs such as those offered at Four County, which has led to an increase in students wanting to attend and waiting lists for some programs.
“My time at Four County has been unbelievable — to see what’s happened to career tech education in the last 11 years ... has been tremendous,” he said. “We’ve fallen under a little bit of a magnifying glass because there’s a massive need for employees. I think that a new appreciation for career tech has happened.”
When looking at how his career has advanced, Meister noted the perspective changes based on the position.
“When you start as a teacher, you’re looking through a telescope because it’s about the classroom and the kids and what goes on between your four walls,” he explained. “When you become an athletic director or principal, you go from a telescope to binoculars because now you have to see a little bit wider view.
“When you become a superintendent, all of a sudden, it becomes a panorama,” he continued. “You have to take in the entire picture and understand the decisions that you make ... anything you do has a massive impact school-wide.”
One of the largest changes in education throughout Meister’s career has been the increase of additional requirements for those in education.
“The amount of requirements that teachers and educators are forced to do that have no bearing on a quality education have become an incredible amount,” he said, adding that also extends to changes to graduation requirements which can often be confusing to parents. “All of this boils down to people who have never been in education making decisions for people in education.”
Technology has also changed, as Meister recalled when computers were not present in schools to now, when there aren’t any operations that aren’t dependent on computers.
“I think it’s been positive for the most part, it’s allowed us to be more efficient,” he said, adding the advances in technology have also opened up many more resources for students. “They literally have access to all the information out there, and it’s just trying to get them to channel that and use it for good.”
The COVID-19 pandemic also proved particularly challenging for the career center, which has a strong emphasis on hands-on learning, and also included working with eight different health departments due to the multiple counties that are part of the school.
“So how do you teach hands-on when you can’t come together?” Meister said, adding there was also a period of time adjusting to being back in school with requirements such as masking as well. “I think the biggest thing with COVID is the immense amount of time that I spent on a day-to-day basis ... just with the contact tracing.”
However, Meister said the superintendents worked well together, as well as the health department.
“Between the administrative team and my staff, we were able to provide education under the most difficult circumstances and do so in a quality manner,” he said. “From that standpoint, I was really proud of what we did.”
Meister and his wife, Karen, live in Bryan, and Meister said he has not set plans for his retirement, but felt it was time for a change. The Four County Career Center Board of Education has hired Jeff Slattery, currently the principal of Hicksville High School, to serve as its next superintendent, starting in 2023.
“I’ve been really lucky to have been here this long, but the timing is perfect for Jeff to come in,” Meister said. “My hope is that he continues to take this up to the next level, that’s always your goal.
“So we’ll see what life has in store after Jan. 1.”
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