Whitehall superintendent Dr. Jerry McDowell announced his retirement from Whitehall District Schools Tuesday night, effective at the end of the calendar year. McDowell will assume a new position Jan. 1, taking the job as executive director of the Michigan Elementary and Middle School Principals Association (MEMSPA). The organization works to create, help and advocate for K-8 principals statewide.
“One of the things I’ve done my entire career is support and advocate for public education and educators, specifically teachers and principals,” McDowell said. “They are the difference-makers in any school district. This (new) position allows me to work directly with middle school and elementary level principals, as well as legislators, to impact policy and promote public education.”
McDowell, 53, revealed his decision with a public letter to the community, expressing his gratitude to Whitehall for the 13-plus years he’s spent in the superintendent’s job. He came to Whitehall from the West Ottawa school district, where he served as principal of Waukazoo Elementary School.
“A retired principal once shared, ‘If you come to Whitehall you will never want to leave,’” McDowell said in his letter, a sentiment Whitehall’s retired athletic director Greg Russell also shared upon his departure. “To that end, I am extremely grateful for the time I have been privileged to spend as the Superintendent of Whitehall District Schools. It has been the greatest joy in my public education career.”
In his letter, McDowell also expressed pride in the district’s strengths, including high-level facilities, small class sizes, athletic accomplishments that include the Viking Athletic Center that opened in 2020, and accomplishing all this while taking in fewer mills’ worth of tax levy than any other district in the county.
Those strengths, McDowell said, make him confident the school district is set up for success well after his tenure as superintendent comes to an end.
“This staff and the team that’s been established here long before me is ready to take on any challenge that comes before them,” McDowell said. “I’ve never worked with people who are as committed as the staff we have here. They’re as ready as they’ll ever be to continue the progress we have made.
“It’s never one person or one thing in an organization. It’s how everyone works together and commits to the cause of working for kids and creating a stronger and more prosperous community.”
McDowell and wife Sandi have three kids - Jack, Grace and Jones - the younger two of which are still Viking students, so the McDowell family isn’t leaving Whitehall, one more way in which the outgoing superintendent said the district “has been a blessing” to him.
“The time spent here working with the people and the community has been the most rewarding of my career,” McDowell said.
