This Harrisburg principal leads the only Apple Distinguished School in SD

Darren Ellwein, the school principal at South Middle School in Harrisburg, was named the Middle School Principal of the Year by the South Dakota Association of Secondary School Principals this year.

Ellwein previously taught special education and social studies before working in administration in the Lennox School District for seven years and at South Middle School for the past 10 years.

In college, he first studied pharmacy, then nursing, thinking he would follow in his mother’s footsteps, as she served as a nurse in the Yankton area for more than 40 years.

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But one day on campus at Augustana University, Ellwein saw an advertisement for an opportunity to serve as a lunch and playground supervisor at Laura Wilder Elementary School.

“All of a sudden I started realizing, I love working with kids, and kids were kind of gravitating toward me at times as they got to know me,” he said of the experience. “I was just really good with those connections, which is probably why I’m in middle school, because middle schoolers need relationships more than anything else.”

A day in the life of a principal is very varied, he explains. Some days include conflict management with parents, students and staff; building trust; representing the school; and, sometimes, hectic mornings.

In his role as principal, he’s been able to oversee the introduction of a maker space into the school building within the last nine years, implementation of a flexible schedule in the last six or seven years, and transition to more technology-based learning.

That last transition recently earned the school the title of being an Apple Distinguished School, meaning they demonstrated Apple’s vision for learning with the use of Apple technology. It’s the only Apple Distinguished School in the state.

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South Middle School features flexible schedules for students, who are able to pick the offerings and classes they need each morning and sign up for them on their iPads.

“We really base it a lot on just empowering the kids to make decisions for themselves with an adult structure,” he said.

The maker space, for example, resonated with a thread of students at SMS and allowed some students to showcase their unique skills, Ellwein said.

But the best part of Ellwein’s day is when he can be with kids, see their creativity and visit with them. For that, lunch might be his favorite part of the day.

“I want (people) to understand, we really do have the best intentions of every kid at heart,” he said of school principals. “We don’t let one bad experience cloud how we feel about someone. There’s always a second chance.”

He said the job can also be “emotionally taxing,” as there’s a lot of pressure on education now, even with “crazy bot calls” or other types of crises.

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“You’re constantly having to think about yourself and trying to be prepared for something that’s going to come up right away,” he said. “There are some really hard days. Unfortunately you see some very difficult things that families go through, and that’s reflected in how the kids are in school. That can be really hard to try not to take it with you, but yet that’s why you’re in this job.”

Ellwein’s main focuses as principal are school culture, personal relationships with student and staff, and professional development, according to a press release announcing Ellwein’s achievement.

He says the most rewarding part of his job is getting to see kids’ smiles, and see them grow to be empowered.

“I think we get the best feedback from our kids,” Ellwein said. “I try to do that quite often. At the end of the year, just asking them, ‘Do you feel like you’re a part of a family?’ I think that’s the ultimate goal you can get from kids, when they feel like they’re in the family.”

Ellwein will be honored for his accomplishment at the South Dakota Principals Conference in June at the Deadwood Lodge and at the National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference in Denver, Colorado in July.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Why this Harrisburg educator was named Middle School Principal of the Year