HURON — The new Huron High School principal will have an easy time with the move to his new office. It’s just down the hall.

The Huron School Board hired Rodney Mittelstedt to replace Mike Radke, who resigned earlier this school year.

Mittelstedt currently serves the school district as the assistant principal at Huron High School and is also the colony principal.

The board held a special meeting Thursday afternoon, with the lone agenda item being to hire a new principal.

Mittelstedt is a graduate of Huron High School and the son of long-time Huron School District employees Sarah and Richard Mittelstedt.

He holds credentials as a Certified Advanced K-12 Administrator, 5-12 Social Studies and Language Arts teacher, Elementary & Secondary English as a New Language teacher, and Athletic Coaching.

He earned Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in history from the USD, and a Master of Science degree in Education, Leadership and Administration from Northern State University.

“My family and I are excited, grateful and honored to serve Huron High School and the Huron community as the next head principal,” Mittelstedt said. “With the collaboration of our talented and dedicated faculty and staff, I commit to continuing our cherished traditions and standards of excellence, while leading us into the future as we continue to deliver an exceptional comprehensive high school experience.”

Mittelstedt taught history and government at Huron University/Si Tanka University for seven years, gaining expertise in curriculum development as he restructured and rewrote the History Department course offerings.

Shifting his career from higher education to K-12 education, Mittelstedt taught middle school and high school social studies at Iroquois for two years, where he also coached boys’ basketball and served as Activities Director.  

Moving to the Huron School District, he taught in various capacities for eight years at Huron High School, where he became a seasoned educator, working with at-risk students in an alternative classroom, with English learners in sheltered-instruction classrooms, and with students in traditional classrooms. In addition, Mittelstedt served two years as instructional coach at Huron Middle School. While working in the Huron School District, Mittelstedt continued teaching college-level courses for 10 years as an adjunct instructor for Northern State University at the Huron Community Campus.  

In 2018 he was chosen to be the Director of English as a Second Language, Federal Programs, and Accreditation for the Huron School District. He served in that capacity for two years before moving to his current position as the Assistant Principal of Huron High School and the Principal of the schools at Huron and Riverside Colonies.  

With a heart for education, Mittelstedt believes that every child has the right to learn, and his guiding principles in education continue to be equity, excellence, and high expectations.

Mittelstedt and his wife, Erica Boomsma, a fourth-grade teacher at Washington 4-5 Center, have two children, Nicholas and Kiersten.