MILFORD ISD SUPERINTENDENT SAYS HE LEARNED A LOT DURING HIS FIVE-YEAR TENURE

MILFORD – Texas was not his first stop during his career, and it will not be his last.

However, Milford ISD Superintendent Vernon Orndorff said it has been an excellent stop along the way.

Orndorff is leaving his post in the Ellis Country town at the end of the school year to head north to Cody, Wyoming.

He will be taking the position there as the Park County School District #6 Superintendent.

“I have boys that moved our west and through our visits out to Wyoming and a son who goes to University of Wyoming my wife and I and our daughter who will be a senior next year – they embraced it when the opportunity came up.”

Orndorff said he explored the area in Wyoming, applied for the opening and the school district hired him.

“Equally they have a board that really impressed me,” Orndorff explained. “A board that is business-minded and focused on student achievement while strengthening the employees and building that community tie. It is similar to the care and passion here in Milford, done on a larger scale and it brings us closer to our boys.”

The school district where he is heading is a little bigger than his Milford family with 2000 students consisting of one high school, one middle school, three elementary schools and two rural elementary schools. Milford’s school district is smaller with all students housed under one building.

Orndorff came to Milford ISD and was principal before he took the role of superintendent. He is currently in his fifth year.

“We have really had some innovative things,” Orndorff said. “Milford ISD has a good supportive board – seven strong board members focusing on what is best for our students, our school, all of our employees. The community cares and the teachers have that passion.”

During his time with the school district, student academic performance has grown tremendously.

“I was just building on the things in place and the previous leadership, and we took that and started moving it progressively forward,” Orndorff explained.

The latest technology initiatives introduced in the district have really taken the students and teachers to a new level of positive teaching. Orndorff said he is proud of that.

“Our teachers really put a lot of work into that one-on-one connection with the student because we didn’t have the technology capacity to go so we used a different platform that was not live, but they were working with each student or group of students as they navigated through and then we came back after that first initial shut down we came back full open door – come to school,” he added.

As for the year of COVID, Orndorff said there was the good and bad. The bad being the district was not prepared technology-wise, but the good was it forced the district to bring the students back and teach live to them.

“Students need to be in the classroom and be engaged with that social piece, but we also need to prepare them for that blended learning, so they understand what online learning looks like because it is going to be in their future somehow, someway,” he said.

The district can now say they have added the missing elements and the technological advances during Orndorff’s watch will be appreciated by the district for years to come.

The Milford ISD board hired a consulting firm to replace the outgoing superintendent. Hopes are that there will be a replacement named by mid-April so Orndorff and the new superintendent have a chance to work side-by-side for a smooth transition.

“I am appreciative that Milford has allowed me to be part of their community and I probably have grown more as a leader than I have grown Milford as a school district because I have learned so much here,” Orndorff concluded.