Dream job found in Hillsboro School

Born in Germany, half way around the world, Terry Baesler landed a job in Hillsboro.

By NEIL O. NELSON

Opportunities, all around.

When he was a lineman in Ohio, Terry Baesler dreamed he might have chosen the wrong profession.

He could have been a teacher; many in his family were, including his mother.

Glen Campbell gave linemen a license to dream, right?

After seven years as a lineman with the Dayton, Ohio, Power and Light Company, Terry Baesler decided he wanted to be in education, preferably closer to home.

So, he packed his bags and came home to North Dakota, returning to college, where he earned degrees at Mayville State University and North Dakota State University at Fargo. 

Teaching at Fisher Minn., Terry Baesler wondered what it would be like working in Hillsboro.

At Northern Cass and from his office window all he could see was a flat horizon, a prairie portrait lacking crowded neighborhoods, complete with trees and clotheslines, elements not necessarily critical to a rural school, case in point: Northern Cass, a consolidated school district that has kids from five surrounding communities all attending classes at the rural Cass County school, but meaningful components nevertheless in Terry Baesler’s dream world.

Today, Terry Baesler can steal a glance out his office window and see homes, paved streets and kids walking to school and ducking under clotheslines from homes on the far side of town.

An argument can be made here for a lineman’s license to dream . . .

This is good, Baesler said this week from his principal’s office at Hillsboro’s high school.

“I can look out the window and see a neighborhood of homes.”

He didn’t have that luxury at Northern Cass.

It’s a luxury he appreciates today.

Named earlier this summer as Hillsboro’s new high school principal, Baesler, who started work Aug. 1, has been introducing himself this week to the students registering for classes scheduled to start Monday, Aug. 25.

Baesler had an idea what to expect when he walked into the Hillsboro High School.

The kids, however, will not know what to expect from the new administrator.

No need to be anxious, nervous or worried, the new principal suggests.

He’s just a small town boy who landed a job he dreamed and hoped he would someday have, he tells.

“I think I always wanted to be in education,” he says, thinking back to days in Ohio as a lineman.

“It just took me a while to figure it out.”

The seven years as a lineman, the time it took to figure it out, he wouldn’t trade. Nor would he trade the time he spent at Fisher teaching or his stint at Northern Cass as an administrator.

Learning experiences, all.

The move to Dayton, Ohio, to be a lineman was a culture shock, he recalls. But, again, worth it.

Born in Germany, where his father was stationed in the military, Baesler calls New Leipzig, N.D. home. His parents are from the Grant County community in the southwestern corner of the state. His father eventually gave up farming, went to college and accepted an administrative position with Sheyenne Valley Electric at Finley, where his son graduated from high school.

His father’s job with the rural electric co-op in Steele County propelled Terry Baesler to study the trade at the State School of Science at Wahpeton.

The rest is history, according to Baesler’s file.

He went from college to Dayton, Ohio, to Fisher, Minn., to the consolidated school district at Northern Cass.

He’s been on the job in Hillsboro two weeks.

He’s somewhat familiar with the school and community; wife Dori has been employed at Dr. Craig Rothfusz’s dental office in Hillsboro the last four years.

Terry and Dori Baesler and their four children live on a farmstead west of Hillsboro. The three oldest of the Baesler children will be starting school in Hillsboro in 10 days.

He understandably likes what he’s seen of the town and school, he admits, smiling.

It’s a friendly town, welcoming and accommodating. Plus, it’s a nice mix of different generations, he’s observed.

Families are staying and moving here, he knows.

“Which is extremely important for the school.”

Homes are selling here, he explains. The same can’t be said for all towns across the wide expanse of North Dakota.

The school enrollment is holding its own, “if not growing,” he’s observed.

Again, the same can’t be said for other small town schools in the state.

The two factors put Hillsboro in an enviable light; little wonder when positions open there’s a multitude of applicants.

The school, without question, he’s convinced, is doing what it can to enhance student learning.

To back the statement, he only has to point to the Events Center and the recent remodeling projects at both the high school and elementary school. The Hillsboro School is a model other schools are observing, tracking and parroting.

Plus, he knows there isn’t a large turnover in the teaching staff; another sign of a good school.-

The lineman in Terry Baesler surfaces when he tells how he wants to open more and different lines of communication between the school and community.

It’s well documented that successful and growing schools are the one where the community and school are one.

“It’s very important for the community to be involved in the school.”

The fact that the Hillsboro community has always been a strong supporter of the school will make Baesler’s job easier, he understands.

“Hillsboro has a tradition-rich school,” a good reason for that is the community’s support, he suggests.

Bridging gaps between a school and community, however daunting, is possible, according to Terry Baesler.

“It’s all about building and continuing relationships.”

While three of his own children will be in school this year, all Hillsboro’s students are his kids.

“What I want for my kids, I want for all the kids in school.”

Meantime, he stresses safety, responsibility and respect.

Safe decisions will be made, everyone will be responsible for their actions and respect will be the word of the day.

Glen Campbell, however, might need to be called in to write the lyrics to Terry Baesler’s take on education today: safety, responsibility, respect.

It’ll need work for it to sound like a lineman for the county . . .

Daunting, but possible.