Homecoming for new activities head

Posted on: Aug 7, 2018

Ryan Tool is the new activities administrator for Delano Public Schools.

A new hand is at the helm of Delano’s activities program, but the name is a familiar one to long-time Delano residents.

Ryan Tool stepped in to replace Mike Lindquist as the district’s activities administrator on July 1. Tool graduated from Delano High School in 1993, and is the son of Jim Tool, who served as the district’s superintendent from 1982-2000.

“This was a great community to grow up in,” said Tool. “I was involved in football, basketball and baseball, but also choir, theater and all sorts of other activities, so there were enough opportunities for me to be a pretty well-rounded student here.”

Dr. Steve Heil, DHS principal, said Tool was a natural fit for the position.

“Ryan will be a great addition to the DHS team. He has great experience in working with students and adults, along with a rich history in athletics and activities,” Heil said. “We look forward to his leadership in continuing the great tradition that he himself helped start as a past Delano student athlete.”

Wide-ranging career

While his career arc has brought Tool full circle, back to the city where he grew up from second grade on, he has covered a lot of ground since exiting the doors of DHS.

He started work as a fourth-grade teacher in Tracy after his graduation from the University of Minnesota, Morris in 1997. From there he earned his master’s degree in counseling and human resource development from South Dakota State University in 2001 and worked as a school counselor in Rutland, South Dakota, which had a total K-12 student population of 150.

After his wife Anna began a college volleyball coaching career, however, the family shifted to the east coast where Tool worked as a counselor at a large high school in Raleigh, North Carolina, and later as the director of counseling services at a high school in Chesapeake, Virginia.

The Tools shifted back to the Midwest in 2006, and Tool served as a high school counselor in Maryville, Missouri, and as an adjunct instructor in counseling theories at Northwest Missouri State University where Anna was the head volleyball coach. In 2010 the family returned to Minnesota and settled down in the Dassel-Cokato district, where Tool served as high school counselor and coached basketball at the ninth-grade, B and JV levels while earning his post-master graduate certificate in educational administration and leadership from St. Cloud State.

“I really enjoyed my time at Dassel-Cokato. It was great to work with the students and staff there,” said Tool. “But when the AD job position opened in Delano I was pretty excited about that. We are used to moving and transition, but we knew that Delano does provide a lot of really good opportunities. Academically there are great classes and great teachers. Kids do really well. And then there are so many activity options as well. It’s a community that really supports the school and kids in general.”

Tool has also coached football and tennis at the high school level, and T-Ball, softball, baseball and volleyball at the youth level.

Delano mentors

While Tool was familiar with the life of an educator from his father’s work, he said he was open-minded about career options when he left for college at Morris.

“I wasn’t necessarily planning on being in education,” Tool said.

The positive influence of several Delano teachers eventually helped him settle on that path, however. Tool remembered Joe Schleper for helping get him involved in T-ball coaching as a ninth-grader, and Tom Berggren, who was his first male teacher in the classroom and later coached him in middle school basketball and football. Both retired this past spring.

Another influence was Jerry Litfin, who was a coach and role model.

“I admired his commitment and involvement in the community and things he was able to accomplish. And it looked like a pretty good life,” said Tool. “In looking at what I enjoyed and was good at – I also taught swimming lessons and worked as a camp counselor – it all involved working with kids and coaching them, so that’s ultimately where I decided my interest was.”

Tool sang in chamber choir with former director Brad Hagen, performed in theater under the direction of recently retired Barb Roy, and played football for Merrill Pavlovich, who is still coaching. Tool’s football team went to the state semifinals when he was a sophomore, and he was a member of the first Delano boys basketball team to reach state in 1992-93 along with current district staff members Paul Ludwig and Damon Clare.

“It’s nice to come someplace new and already have some relationships established,” said Tool. “Most of the teachers I had have since retired. I know some folks within the community, but within the school district there are a lot of people I need to meet and develop relationships with. So the school side of things feels really new, but the community feels very comfortable.”

Having experienced a wide variety of educational settings, Tool said he is confident in Delano’s track record of educational success.

“I think Delano has really good families that are focused on education and seeing kids do their best,” he said. “There’s a good blend of rigor and opportunity and support.”

Leadership opportunity

Tool is beginning his work in Delano just as a major building project has augmented the available facilities, from the installation of turf fields to the construction of the new Performing Arts Center.

“It’s great to have the facilities and the options that we have. I’m still keeping my fingers crossed that the pool gets done in time and everything is good to go,” said Tool. “For me there are still a lot of things to get up to speed on, just to know where it’s all at. But in the long term it’s very exciting because I know Delano should be in good shape for those activities going forward.”

Early in his career as a teacher and school counselor, Tool said he had little intention of joining the ranks of school administrators. With more time and experience, however, that mindset began to change.

“Yes, there are a lot of challenges, but it’s also an opportunity to lead and to hopefully get in front of things and take things in a really positive direction,” Tool said.

Outside of work Tool stays busy with his kids’ activities, and enjoys camping, traveling, working out and spending time with extended family. His children include high school sophomore son Carter, seventh-grade daughter Taylor and 2.5-year-old Samantha.