“Due to inclement weather, School of the Osage will…”
“Put it on the board! That’s another…”
The voice of School of the Osage (the one I know narrated the preceding quotes in your head) Dr. Brad Yoder is retiring after the 2023-2024 school year. Dr. Yoder is currently the Deputy Superintendent of Schools and has served our school community in multiple roles throughout the years.
Upon receiving his bachelor’s degree from Missouri Southern State University, Dr. Yoder started his education career in adjacent school districts for a period of time. During this journey, he met his future wife and current Osage High School choir director, Amy Yoder. Fortunately for School of the Osage, Amy is an Osage alum and they both decided to grow their careers in our District.
Dr. Yoder describes his early years as an English teacher and coach at Osage with much fondness. “There’s not a day that goes by that I don't miss working in the classroom… It's hard to say that those weren’t the best times.”
He then transitioned to the Athletic Director position and has now been in various parts of administration for the past 13 years. In total, he has worked in education for 29 years.
However, the reality of Dr. Yoder’s time at Osage cannot be fully captured in these numbers and dates. A seasoned teacher who has worked with him as long as he has been here described him as “…caring about who you are. He wants to get to know you as a person, not just as a member of his staff.” Even in my interview with him, he had wisdom to share and was genuinely interested in having a conversation rather than listing off his accomplishments. This virtue in Dr. Yoder’s words:
“Don’t worry about chasing awards or chasing accolades or putting blue banners on the walls… I really believe that if you take care of people and treat people the way you want to be treated and you care about all the individuals in the school building- from students to staff- you’ll get fulfillment out of that.”
Whether it be your leadership on building new structures, hiring the next top notch teacher, or calling an Osage touchdown, we sincerely thank you for your time here at Osage, Dr. Yoder. Your wisdom and people-first mindset has developed and impacted the culture at our schools. We wish you all the best in your future endeavors.
-Gratian Adams