10 Years And Counting As WCS Superintendent, Dr. Hoffert Provides Insight Into Roles And Challenges
October 2, 2024 at 9:45 p.m.
Editor’s Note: This is the first in a three-part series of stories from an interview with Warsaw Community Schools Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert.
2024 has been a pretty big year for Warsaw Community Schools Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert professionally.
Not only did he mark his 10th anniversary in the administrative position, but he also was chosen as the 2025 Superintendent of the Year for District II by members of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents. It’s his first time being nominated for the honor by the other superintendents in northern Indiana.
“As I take a look back and reflect on it, it feels like it was just yesterday when we were out in Washington, D.C., at inauguration as a history teacher and coach, and I watch so many of these doors open up. I could never have imagined being superintendent with Warsaw Community Schools and then being here for 10-plus years. It’s an incredible privilege, it’s an incredible honor to be able to serve this community that I’ve always considered to be home - not only for myself, but for my great-grandparents, my grandparents, my parents and now my kids,” Hoffert said in an interview Monday in his office.
In January 2009, Hoffert was part of a group of Warsaw Community High School teachers, staff and students who attended President Barack Obama’s first inauguration in Washington, D.C., which also included visits to several museums and monuments.
The 2024-25 school year is Hoffert’s 11th inside his role as superintendent, which he said seems unreal as he watches his own kids grow up within the school system. His oldest, Ryun, graduated 1-1/2 years ago and is a sophomore at Grace College, while Robinson is a high school senior this year and Roosevelt is in middle school.
“So I think it hits us even harder as we’re looking at things like senior night. Even our youngest - who we still picture as this kindergarten kid that’s going through as a seventh-grader over at Edgewood Middle School,” Hoffert said. “So just having the opportunity to serve in this role as a graduate, as somebody that grew up in this system, as a teacher, an administrator and then, most importantly, as a parent. It’s humbling in so many ways.”
Each role that Hoffert has been in with WCS has had its own share of challenges.
“Being a teacher, there’s nothing more rewarding than being a teacher and being with students every single day and loving the subject and sharing that knowledge, either as a teacher or as a coach, is incredibly rewarding,” he said. “Honestly, if you would have asked me when I was a teacher, I would have told you this is what I’m going to do for the rest of my life.”
Being an administrator has a different impact, though, because while an administrator is not dealing with students every day, Hoffert said you’re dealing with teachers, the community and the organizational structure of a school system.
“When you look at a place like Warsaw Community Schools, we’re a pretty large-sized city inside of our own,” he said.
Last year, WCS served 1 million meals inside the school system. School buses traveled over 1 million miles.
“So you’re looking at everything from the budgets to the legal aspect to making sure that we have the right resources in place for our teachers. Continually working on the legislative level to make sure that we have the funding that supports us,” Hoffert said.
His wife, Dr. Rachael Hoffert, often asks him what he does as superintendent.
“I always tell her I don’t know because each day gets to be a little bit different. One day you might be a recess aid, filling in where somebody needs something because we’re short on substitutes. Or, a substitute bus driver in one of the mini buses - they don’t trust me to drive one of the big ones yet,” he stated humorously.
The superintendent also gets to be the head cheerleader for the school system by going out and sharing the great things that are happening within the school system every day.
“Other days you get to be an attorney or a businessman or needing to represent the school in a legislative function. So, again, it’s different every day, so I can’t say that there’s one role that’s been better than the other. We didn’t even talk about being principal. Getting to be principal is - and talk about a highlight - you’re like the superstar beyond superstars when you’re a principal or a teacher/coach. So each (role) is very different, each one definitely has its challenges, each one keeps you up at night for different reasons and different concerns,” Hoffert said.
The average length for a superintendent to stay at a school system is between three to five years.
“And that’s one of the reasons I feel so blessed to be here for this length. That’s not something that’s traditional in today’s world - people either move on or move up or things don’t go well inside the school system,” Hoffert said. “Being here inside the local community, this is where my heart is at. This is where my heart is at.”
He said his goal is to have all his kids graduate as Warsaw Tigers.
“I really don’t a desire to move other places. This is my hometown. In a lot of ways, I feel like this is my mission. When I’m finished with this, maybe I’ll go back and be a history teacher,” he said.
Editor’s Note: This is the first in a three-part series of stories from an interview with Warsaw Community Schools Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert.
2024 has been a pretty big year for Warsaw Community Schools Superintendent Dr. David Hoffert professionally.
Not only did he mark his 10th anniversary in the administrative position, but he also was chosen as the 2025 Superintendent of the Year for District II by members of the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents. It’s his first time being nominated for the honor by the other superintendents in northern Indiana.
“As I take a look back and reflect on it, it feels like it was just yesterday when we were out in Washington, D.C., at inauguration as a history teacher and coach, and I watch so many of these doors open up. I could never have imagined being superintendent with Warsaw Community Schools and then being here for 10-plus years. It’s an incredible privilege, it’s an incredible honor to be able to serve this community that I’ve always considered to be home - not only for myself, but for my great-grandparents, my grandparents, my parents and now my kids,” Hoffert said in an interview Monday in his office.
In January 2009, Hoffert was part of a group of Warsaw Community High School teachers, staff and students who attended President Barack Obama’s first inauguration in Washington, D.C., which also included visits to several museums and monuments.
The 2024-25 school year is Hoffert’s 11th inside his role as superintendent, which he said seems unreal as he watches his own kids grow up within the school system. His oldest, Ryun, graduated 1-1/2 years ago and is a sophomore at Grace College, while Robinson is a high school senior this year and Roosevelt is in middle school.
“So I think it hits us even harder as we’re looking at things like senior night. Even our youngest - who we still picture as this kindergarten kid that’s going through as a seventh-grader over at Edgewood Middle School,” Hoffert said. “So just having the opportunity to serve in this role as a graduate, as somebody that grew up in this system, as a teacher, an administrator and then, most importantly, as a parent. It’s humbling in so many ways.”
Each role that Hoffert has been in with WCS has had its own share of challenges.
“Being a teacher, there’s nothing more rewarding than being a teacher and being with students every single day and loving the subject and sharing that knowledge, either as a teacher or as a coach, is incredibly rewarding,” he said. “Honestly, if you would have asked me when I was a teacher, I would have told you this is what I’m going to do for the rest of my life.”
Being an administrator has a different impact, though, because while an administrator is not dealing with students every day, Hoffert said you’re dealing with teachers, the community and the organizational structure of a school system.
“When you look at a place like Warsaw Community Schools, we’re a pretty large-sized city inside of our own,” he said.
Last year, WCS served 1 million meals inside the school system. School buses traveled over 1 million miles.
“So you’re looking at everything from the budgets to the legal aspect to making sure that we have the right resources in place for our teachers. Continually working on the legislative level to make sure that we have the funding that supports us,” Hoffert said.
His wife, Dr. Rachael Hoffert, often asks him what he does as superintendent.
“I always tell her I don’t know because each day gets to be a little bit different. One day you might be a recess aid, filling in where somebody needs something because we’re short on substitutes. Or, a substitute bus driver in one of the mini buses - they don’t trust me to drive one of the big ones yet,” he stated humorously.
The superintendent also gets to be the head cheerleader for the school system by going out and sharing the great things that are happening within the school system every day.
“Other days you get to be an attorney or a businessman or needing to represent the school in a legislative function. So, again, it’s different every day, so I can’t say that there’s one role that’s been better than the other. We didn’t even talk about being principal. Getting to be principal is - and talk about a highlight - you’re like the superstar beyond superstars when you’re a principal or a teacher/coach. So each (role) is very different, each one definitely has its challenges, each one keeps you up at night for different reasons and different concerns,” Hoffert said.
The average length for a superintendent to stay at a school system is between three to five years.
“And that’s one of the reasons I feel so blessed to be here for this length. That’s not something that’s traditional in today’s world - people either move on or move up or things don’t go well inside the school system,” Hoffert said. “Being here inside the local community, this is where my heart is at. This is where my heart is at.”
He said his goal is to have all his kids graduate as Warsaw Tigers.
“I really don’t a desire to move other places. This is my hometown. In a lot of ways, I feel like this is my mission. When I’m finished with this, maybe I’ll go back and be a history teacher,” he said.