EHOVE hires new principal

MILAN TWP. — A familiar face will become EHOVE Career Center's new high school principal. Sandusky resident Michael Strohl starts his new role on Aug. 1. He succeeds Erika Beckman, who starts her assistant superintendent duties the same day. Beckman has been the vocational school's high school principal for seven years. Strohl's education experience has had stops at a couple area schools. He started his career as a social studies teacher at Sandusky High School for two years, and next taught social studies at North Olmsted High School for eight years. He then spent 10 years as the high school athletic director and assistant principal at Perkins High School. For the last six years, he's been the assistant principal at North Olmsted High School. "I'm excited about bringing Michael Strohl on board with our quality team," EHOVE superintendent Chris McCully said. "As a school of choice, it's important that EHOVE continuously develops and enhances its offerings. He brings with him new ideas to build on our solid foundation to improve opportunities for our students." McCully described Strohl's qualities as an educator and his future responsibilities. "Michael is focused on student success and supporting staff needs, which makes our community stronger," McCully said. "His experience in developing relationships and his role as an established member of one of EHOVE's partner school communities will be great additions to our school. As principal, his role will continue to be key in our mission to prepare the future workforce for in-demand careers through skilled hands-on education." Strohl's two-year contract stipulates that he will make about $107,300 during his first year and $111,000 during the second year, treasurer Tim Coffman said. A Clyde native, Strohl earned a bachelor's degree in secondary education at University of Toledo, a master's degree in administration from Ashland University, where he also acquired his superintendent's license and a master's degree in educational leadership from Concordia University Chicago. He credits the longtime North Olmsted leadership of superintendent Mike Zalar (who is now with Tiffin City Schools), associate superintendent Anne Pyros and human resources director Jeff Stanton for their mentoring, which allowed him to learn, grow and build relationships. "Working with EHOVE's 16 partner school districts will help all of our students continue to grow and be ready for a career or college after high school," he said. He noted that, while EHOVE's programs are of high quality, he was most impressed by the people. 'The teachers and staff are obviously student-centered and things are good," he said. Strohl added that he was impressed by the school's culture and how he was able to quickly envision himself as a staff member at the school. "The strong administrative team at EHOVE has a lot of experience and I'm looking forward to working with them," he said. "After meeting McCully and Coffman, I immediately felt a strong connection and wanted to join the EHOVE team even more." Strohl said Beckman set the bar high for his new job. "It's always a goal to leave a position better than you found it by providing even more opportunities and experiences for students," he said. "That's really a lot to strive for, because Erika has done such a great job as principal. It's going to be a benefit and asset to all of EHOVE that she will still be with our district and helping all of us and our students." Strohl has been married to his wife, Maggie, for almost 20 years. They have two sons; one of them, Mitchell, attends EHOVE's business & marketing program, and another son, Vinny, is a freshman at Perkins High School. Their family also welcomed a new puppy, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Ivey. Reach reporter Caitlin Nearhood at nearhood@sanduskyregister.com and follow her on Twitter @CaitlinNearhood - Appreciate news from your community? Click here to subscribe to the Register.