Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — The students brought him back.

Dave Schmid, former principal at Steamboat Springs High School, has returned to the public school system as a substitute teacher. The Steamboat Springs School Board hired Schmid during its Monday meeting, and he already has taught shop class at the high school for one day.

"There's probably about four or five reasons (why I came back)," Schmid said this week. "One is I miss the kids. I miss the school. A third reason is they always had a hard time getting subs, and I can help with that."

Schmid said he also has been working as an educational consultant and does not want to forget what it's like to be in the trenches.

"I always hated people who would talk about schools when they hadn't been in them for a long time," he said. "Staying in touch with the schools and the kids is important to me."

Schmid said he consults with principals about leadership issues. He also is part of a professional learning community called the National School Reform Faculty. Schmid also is a facilitator for All Kinds of Minds, an organization that promotes individualized teaching methods for students with different academic abilities.

"I'm just going to try to fit the subbing in when I can," he said.

At the high school on Feb. 10, Principal Mike Knezevich -- Schmid's former assistant principal -- led district staff through an All Kinds of Minds workshop during the district's "in-service" workday.

"We've been working on it for the past three years," Schmid said. "He's keeping it going, which is really good."

Schmid left his position at the high school at the end of the 2004-05 school year because he felt it was "time to go do something new."

Substitute teaching fits that category. Schmid said teaching the shop class went well and that he is open to teaching almost any subject.

"The only one I wouldn't feel too comfortable with is a foreign language," he said.

"It's just great to see the kids and be around the school."

-- To reach Mike Lawrence, call 871-4203

or e-mail mlawrence@steamboatpilot.com