Tiffin City Schools welcomes 35 new staff members for the 2026-27 school year

When students walk back into Tiffin City Schools on Aug. 25, 35 new staff members will be there to meet them across the district, while several current staff members also begin new roles.

The new hires include teachers, intervention specialists, aides, custodians, food service and transportation staff and administrators serving every grade level from preschool through Columbian High School.

Most of the new hires fill spots left open by 33 retirements and resignations at the end of last school year. Three positions are new this year: Director of Community Engagement and two special needs aides required to meet student IEP needs. A fourth, Director of Teaching and Learning, is a position the district is bringing back after eliminating it several years ago.

“We have jobs because of kids. That’s the beginning and the end of it,” Superintendent Greg Williamson said. “What I ask of everyone who works here, whether they’ve been with us 30 years or 30 days, is that they care about what’s best for students and bring real passion to the work. That’s the standard. Every one of our new staff members is walking into a district that expects it, and a district that’s glad to have them.”

Several leadership and district-office roles are also changing for the new school year. Dr. Lori Pierce takes over as principal at Krout 2-3 Elementary. Cory Rohrbacher joins Columbian High School as assistant principal, and Kate Focht moves from the high school to Tiffin Middle School as assistant principal. Kelly Spahr becomes Executive Secretary to the Superintendent.

At the district level, the start of the school year also brings changes in teaching and learning, technology and community engagement.

Drew Bauman moves from Columbian High School to become Director of Teaching and Learning. The role oversees curriculum, instruction and assessment across all six schools, coordinates teacher professional development and leads the district’s work on state testing and academic reporting. Williamson said the value of the position is having one person whose whole job is what the district teaches and how it teaches it, from preschool through graduation, so every school is working from the same plan.

Brette Ott, who has served as curriculum coordinator, will shift to technology and tech integration, supporting online curriculum and the resources behind it. Williamson credited Ott with carrying the curriculum load in the years the director position was vacant and said the district is fortunate to keep her expertise in a role where it’s needed.

Jimmy Flint, a Columbian graduate and lifelong Tiffin resident, started Aug. 3 as the district’s first Director of Community Engagement. The position coordinates district communication, strengthens partnerships across the community and pursues grants and outside funding to bring resources into classrooms beyond the local tax bill.

“This job is about making sure the community hears from its schools, and about finding dollars that don’t come from a Tiffin tax bill,” Williamson said. “Like everything else we do, it has to come back to the kids.”

Flint said the job starts with what the district owes the community.

“The people of Tiffin trust us with their kids and their tax dollars. That’s a duty and a privilege,” Flint said. “The duty is showing them what we’re doing and why. The privilege is that what happens in these buildings every day is worth sharing.”

New staff and new administrative roles by building:

Columbian High School: Cory Rohrbacher, assistant principal; Erin Hahn, guidance counselor; Aiden Nunez, math teacher; Siri Wintersteen, intervention specialist; Lisa Brahares, educational aide.

Tiffin Middle School: Kate Focht, assistant principal; Karyssa VanHoose, science teacher; Reid Jury, career connection teacher; Samantha Bauer, intervention specialist.

Noble 4-5 Elementary: Jena Harrison, grade 5 teacher; Alan Furey, grade 5 teacher; Olivia Jacobs, Kendra O’Donnell and Hannah Launder, intervention specialists.

Krout 2-3 Elementary: Dr. Lori Pierce, principal; Riley Snider, grade 3 teacher; Elizabeth Wank, art teacher for Krout and Washington; Tasha Rannells and Kayla Kirchner, special needs aides; Damian York, head custodian; Elliot Stine, night sweeper.

Washington K-1 Elementary: Kelly White, grade 1 teacher; Atlee Everhart, special needs aide; Alex Smith, head custodian.

Lincoln Pre-K School: Celeste Zirm and Sara Hammer, pre-K teachers; Deanna Brockington, Melissa Ackerman, Mya Carrick and Rhiannon Moyer, special needs aides.

Food Service: Rhonda Craig and Sandy Pelfrey, general workers.

Transportation: Steve Kramer, bus driver; Stephanie Vantu and Carol Gee, special needs bus aides.

District Office: Drew Bauman, Director of Teaching and Learning; Jimmy Flint, Director of Community Engagement; Kelly Spahr, Executive Secretary to the Superintendent.

Staff report Aug. 21 for convocation. Students return Aug. 25.

Questions about the district or any of its new staff members can be directed to Flint at (419) 618-5306 or jimmy_flint@tiffincityschools.org.