Kuhn reflects on similarities between Mineral Wells ISD and new Abilene district he will lead

Apr. 27—MINERAL WELLS — John Kuhn was confident last week that he's leaving Ram Nation in good hands, as he discussed challenges and successes during the eight years he led Mineral Wells ISD.

"You don't want to be the kind of leader that does something good and then leave and it falls apart — because, then, you didn't do something good," he said, sitting in his office three days before he was to take the helm at Abilene ISD on Friday.

"I'm really proud of the culture that we've produced here," he said. "I wanted to have a place where teachers want to come to work and kids want to come to school. I think, in large part, that we've accomplished that."

Kuhn, 49, said he's worked to build a strong administrative and teaching staff while superintendent. Chief Finance Officer Paul Hearn and Communications Director Karyn Bullock are the only two current administrators who were here when he arrived.

Now he's surrounded by others he brought in, including Assistant Superintendent David Tarver whom the board tapped as interim superintendent.

"And I'm really proud of that, because I think we hired some really strong directors," Kuhn said. "I definitely feel like I put my stamp on this district in a positive way."

The board, by law, must post Kuhn's open position, conduct interviews and name a finalist 21 days before voting on the job.

Tarver has an inside track to succeed his boss and says he hopes the board will erase the 'interim' from his title.

"I have immense confidence in his abilities, and I know where his heart is. It's in the right place," Kuhn said of Tarver, a 27-year Ram in his eighth year as second-in-command. "He's been my sounding board. I think if he ends up being the permanent superintendent, Mineral Wells will be in better hands than when I was in charge."

Kuhn points, too, at a shortage of working-class housing as evidence of the district's appeal, as teachers commute from Granbury or other communities.

"Some of them come a long way," he said.

Kuhn reflected on other challenges he and an active board of trustee have faced during his tenure.

"I'm going to tell you something about COVID and Mineral Wells ISD," he said of the pandemic that gave educators statewide a new assignment in early 2020 — prevent learning from shutting down despite campus shutdowns.

The school year before COVID descended, student scores on the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness had risen from beating the state average in just one of the 22 grade- and subject-specific exams to topping half of them.

"Going into COVID, I've got really good principals doing really good work," he said. "Our kids are fixing to show what they can do (in 2020). And, boom, they don't give the STAAR. They were confident, but they didn't get to see it. So the next year, STAAR comes back. But kids are missing school for 10 days at a time, and we're doing at-home learning."

Teachers and support staff kept their focus, he said.

"The year after COVID, Mineral Wells outperformed the state on seven tests," he said. "Our scores dropped after COVID, but statewide the drop was catastrophic."

The next year, students beat their statewide peers on eight exams.

"So (the improvement) has staying power," Kuhn said. "Academically, Mineral Wells ISD weathered that storm. And I give 100 percent credit to this team of teachers, this team of leaders."

Board President Sunny Lee said the district took a good turn when Kuhn came on board.

"He took our district when the morale and culture were pretty low," she said. "And he's turned it around. We're in a good place, the best place Mineral Wells ISD has been in. ... We've been fortunate to have him for eight years."

Faith led Kuhn to love — in another hemisphere.

"I spent two years living in Peru after college doing volunteer mission work," he said, describing his time drilling water wells in the International Mission Board's Journeyman program. "It was fun. It had very low levels of stress and high levels of adventure."

While serving in a church camp, he met a fellow counselor named Noelia. As his second year in Peru rolled around, though, she moved to another city.

"But my boss was pretty cool," Kuhn said, explaining that man found errands to send the young missionary to Noelia's turf.

Kuhn not only brought home a wife, he brought the experience of having to learn a second language on the fly in a new culture.

"That's why I'm very sympathetic to these kids," he said of students in Mineral Wells' English as a Second Language curriculum. "Because they didn't choose to leave home. I want these kids to have every opportunity to assimilate into our culture and grow up to be successful adults."

Earlier this year, ESL students demonstrated their learning with a spelling bee in Spanish for the school board.

"They are all going to grow up and be our neighbors," Kuhn said. "So I think when we educate the children in our community, we're helping everybody. We're not just helping those children. Education benefits everybody."

Before COVID, trustees returned from a Texas Association of School Boards demonstration with a directive for Kuhn to make students' mental health a priority.

"I think he could tell that we were all real adamant about it," Board President Lee said. "He got on board really quickly. It was easy to get behind."

Kuhn said the district had one mental health counselor at the time, working with special education students.

"Three of the board members at that time had students in high school, and they talked about their kids' friends who were struggling," he said. "My board, they are not just figureheads. They don't just sit in a meeting and vote. They have real, actionable input. And, just like our teachers, they put our kids at the top of the list. And that's what's important for me."

Trustees in January heard a progress report from new Director of Counseling and Assessment Amber Moore and her two mental health counselors, who divvy up high school and fourth-through-eighth graders.

The report indicated 80 students referred to outside counseling, including six receiving hospital care for acute symptoms of mental distress.

Moore also unveiled an online student counseling program linking students with pros at John Peter Smith hospital. The board was swift to adopt the new program, which designs individual treatment plans for students.

"It's tough to be a teenager in 2024," Kuhn said. "They carry a heavier load than we did."

Lee said the timing of the board's mental health directive affected the COVID menace that was still on the horizon.

"We didn't know we were setting up for COVID, but we set up," she said. "We have such a good team here, set up for success. We've been a team of eight for eight years. We're all pretty close, like a family, and we really hate to see John go. But we understand. He likes a challenge."

Kuhn takes over a 5A district with 15,000 students and two high schools. Therein lies one of his new challenges.

"And which game do I go to on Friday night?" he asked, noting cross-town rivals, the Cooper Cougars and Abilene High Eagles.

Abilene ISD spokesman Jordan Ziemer said the annual Crosstown Showdown at Shotwell Stadium is a "spectacle of tradition and rivalry."

Ziemer, who like Kuhn holds a doctorate in education, also said the district has heard the voices from Mineral Wells loud and clear.

"It's the mark of a great superintendent when he leaves a community in mourning," Ziemer said. "We're excited to support him as his journey continues."

The Kuhns are parents of two sons and a daughter, with boys Noah and Evan now following respective career and college paths.

Liliana, who is poised for her senior year, will remain in Mineral Wells, giving Dad (and Mom) a good excuse to revisit Crazy Town.

"There's a lot of weekends that I'll be in Mineral Wells," he said. "Actually, I'm going to feel freer that I'm not superintendent. So you may see me downtown."