Rossford veteran elevated to principal

Glenwood school's Spangler taught kindergarten

Megan Spangler, the incoming principal at Glenwood Elementary, will return to where she first taught in the Rossford district.

The Rossford Board of Education has approved the appointment of Megan Spangler as Glenwood Elementary School principal, effective Aug. 1.

She came highly recommended by Superintendent Dan Creps, who was not at the board meeting but sent a memo stating, “She possesses the leadership qualities and personnel skills we are looking for in a school administrator.”

The board approved a three-year contract that will pay her $85,000 in 2013-14. Ms. Spangler replaces Paul Gibbs, who is leaving to become principal at Highland Elementary in Sylvania.

For Ms. Spangler, the Glenwood post is a homecoming of sorts. The school is where she first worked in the district, as a kindergarten teacher, in 2004. She most recently taught first grade at Eagle Point elementary.

“Glenwood is where I started,” she said after the meeting. “I’m happy to be back home.”

Board member Beverly Koch expressed satisfaction that the district was able to fill the position from within.

“I think it’s so great that one of our teachers is staying here and moving up the ladder,” she said. “Congratulations. You’ve earned it.”

As a principal, Ms. Spangler, 32, will be in charge of the district's largest grade school, with 482 students and 62 staff members.

“It’s a big job,” she said. “I’ll be on my own, but I'll have the support of a great administrative team. I know I’ll have the support of the staff. They really care about doing what’s right for kids.”

Even though she won't be spending her days in a classroom, “I'll be doing what I've been doing all along, but on a broader spectrum. I’ll still be dealing with kids, teachers, and parents,” she explained.

Adding to her challenges will be the state’s new teacher-evaluation requirements, she noted.

“For a majority of teachers, starting next year, the evaluations will move from every three years to every year. I’ll be doing all of them,” she said.

Ms. Spangler lives in Napoleon with her husband, Ronnie, and stepdaughter, Madalyn, 13. She graduated from Sylvania Southview High School, where her father, Val Glinka, is a physical education and health teacher.

At the University of Toledo, she earned a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and a master's in educational administration and supervision and did additional coursework to obtain her principal’s license.

She also has done stints at the Bulldog Center, where she was a transitional kindergarten teacher, and at Indian Hills before moving to Eagle Point.

She has served as president and vice president of the district’s teachers’ union and served on various committees.

“I’m looking forward to the start of school,” she said.