Pioneer Elementary Principal
Tom Otte 468-6458 x2211
Hello Pioneer Elementary Families and the Pierz Community!
It is with great pleasure that I can introduce myself as the principal of Pioneer Elementary School. My name is Tom Otte and I have spent the last 24 years of my professional life as a Science Teacher (14 years), a K-12 school principal in Ashby, MN (4 years), an assistant high school principal at Pierz Healy (4 years) and this is my 4th year at Pioneer.
Pioneer elementary is a Pre-K to Grade 6 school of approximately 675 children and over 80 employees. For a number of years we have seen slow steady growth in our student population as we continue to attract families with young children to the Pierz School District, which includes the cities and surrounding areas of Buckman, Lastrup, Harding, and Pierz. Pioneer has a progressive Pre-K program offering 2 full days per week for all 4 year olds. For the first time in many years, we also now offer a Head Start Program for up to 20 children ages 3 and 4. This is an all day, 4 days/week program. Our Pre-K offers free transportation for children in the Pierz district. In grades K-6, we have 3 or 4 classrooms of students at each grade level, determined by the number of children enrolled. All students receive instruction in music, art, physical education, computer science, social studies, science, mathematics, and reading. Additionally, our Title I program, MN Reading Corps, and our special education programs are highly progressive with teachers and staff who work tirelessly with children and expect them to continuously improve their skills. Our students are involved in many activities, including band, choir, student council, scouts, community education activities, dance, and many sports.
At Pioneer Elementary, I have the distinct honor of working with a school staff that is completely dedicated and committed to the success of every child in our school. This award winning staff expects great results of themselves and their students. They collectively and constantly search for the most effective strategies to deliver meaningful, progressive learning experiences for our children. In just the past 5 years we have been named as "Celebration Eligible" (top 35%) twice and as a "Reward School" (top 15%) by the MN Department of Education (MDE). Last year, MDE posted Pioneer Elementary as the #1 school in Region 5 for "Reading by Third Grade." In addition to those awards, the MN Rural Education Association (MREA) named one of our teachers as the MN Rural Educator of the Year. In addition to 2 computer labs (one of which is now a Makerspace Lab offering many unique learning experiences for children), we have classroom sets of Chromebooks (a laptop style computer) in every grade 2-6 classroom. Our teachers also use Chromebooks and iPads extensively in K-1. The staff at Pioneer elementary have built, and continue to build, their own legacy. It is safe to say, we will not rest on our strong tradition, but instead we will perpetually strive for continuous improvement.
On a personal level, I have been married to my wife, Kathleen, for 20 years and we have 3 children (Lukas - college junior, Isaac - 12th grade, and Kenna - 8th grade) who all proudly attend (or did attend) Pierz Schools. Like many of you, we live in rural Pierz. When I'm not at Pioneer Elementary School, I enjoy coaching my children's athletics, attending school events, summer and winter fishing, as well as hunting waterfowl, pheasants and deer.
If you are interested in learning more about Pioneer Elementary, please contact anyone on our staff, or call me directly at 320-468-6458 ext. 2211.
Yours in Education,
Tom
It is with great pleasure that I can introduce myself as the principal of Pioneer Elementary School. My name is Tom Otte and I have spent the last 24 years of my professional life as a Science Teacher (14 years), a K-12 school principal in Ashby, MN (4 years), an assistant high school principal at Pierz Healy (4 years) and this is my 4th year at Pioneer.
Pioneer elementary is a Pre-K to Grade 6 school of approximately 675 children and over 80 employees. For a number of years we have seen slow steady growth in our student population as we continue to attract families with young children to the Pierz School District, which includes the cities and surrounding areas of Buckman, Lastrup, Harding, and Pierz. Pioneer has a progressive Pre-K program offering 2 full days per week for all 4 year olds. For the first time in many years, we also now offer a Head Start Program for up to 20 children ages 3 and 4. This is an all day, 4 days/week program. Our Pre-K offers free transportation for children in the Pierz district. In grades K-6, we have 3 or 4 classrooms of students at each grade level, determined by the number of children enrolled. All students receive instruction in music, art, physical education, computer science, social studies, science, mathematics, and reading. Additionally, our Title I program, MN Reading Corps, and our special education programs are highly progressive with teachers and staff who work tirelessly with children and expect them to continuously improve their skills. Our students are involved in many activities, including band, choir, student council, scouts, community education activities, dance, and many sports.
At Pioneer Elementary, I have the distinct honor of working with a school staff that is completely dedicated and committed to the success of every child in our school. This award winning staff expects great results of themselves and their students. They collectively and constantly search for the most effective strategies to deliver meaningful, progressive learning experiences for our children. In just the past 5 years we have been named as "Celebration Eligible" (top 35%) twice and as a "Reward School" (top 15%) by the MN Department of Education (MDE). Last year, MDE posted Pioneer Elementary as the #1 school in Region 5 for "Reading by Third Grade." In addition to those awards, the MN Rural Education Association (MREA) named one of our teachers as the MN Rural Educator of the Year. In addition to 2 computer labs (one of which is now a Makerspace Lab offering many unique learning experiences for children), we have classroom sets of Chromebooks (a laptop style computer) in every grade 2-6 classroom. Our teachers also use Chromebooks and iPads extensively in K-1. The staff at Pioneer elementary have built, and continue to build, their own legacy. It is safe to say, we will not rest on our strong tradition, but instead we will perpetually strive for continuous improvement.
On a personal level, I have been married to my wife, Kathleen, for 20 years and we have 3 children (Lukas - college junior, Isaac - 12th grade, and Kenna - 8th grade) who all proudly attend (or did attend) Pierz Schools. Like many of you, we live in rural Pierz. When I'm not at Pioneer Elementary School, I enjoy coaching my children's athletics, attending school events, summer and winter fishing, as well as hunting waterfowl, pheasants and deer.
If you are interested in learning more about Pioneer Elementary, please contact anyone on our staff, or call me directly at 320-468-6458 ext. 2211.
Yours in Education,
Tom
Pioneer Elementary is definitely STUCK on reading! Last spring, after meeting their individual reading goals, students had the pleasure of collectively taping me to the wall!
And my daughter, Kenna, took full advantage:)
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