MEEKER | A summer road trip and a stop for breakfast at Wendll’s for a ‘Bodacious Breakfast Burrito’ and coffee set the course for Barone Middle School’s new principal, Dr. Debra Atwell.
While traveling through town with her husband, Roger, they visited with a local couple who shared their story about relocating to the area, the challenges and rewards they’d experienced. Barone Middle School seventh- and eighth-grade teacher Kris Casey mentioned a recent opening for a middle school principal in the district.
Having served in the role before, Atwell expressed interest. Casey quickly connected her with the district’s administrative office, and a visit with Superintendent Chris Selle followed. After returning from vacation, she applied, interviewed and was offered the job.
“Dr. Debra Atwell brings over 30 years of experience in education, including 26 years as an administrator,” Selle said. “We feel really fortunate that she found us, and we’re excited about the stable leadership and expertise she brings to the middle school.”
“The schools are amazing,” Atwell said. “We are attracted to small, rural, ranch and farm living, plus the amazing outdoor recreation and hunting opportunities this community offers. Meeker has a charming historic downtown, and has invested in youth and its community. It really seems like a gold mine. And if you’ve ever experienced southern humidity, you know the weather here is wonderful.”
Before moving to Meeker, Dr. Atwell served as a superintendent in Arkansas for the past seven years in a small rural town of similar size. She said that role taught her important lessons she is eager to apply at Barone Middle School.
“The challenges are many, but the reward is the opportunity to build culture, build capacity, and build systems that serve students and honor the community’s history and tradition,” she said.
For the upcoming school year, Dr. Atwell’s focus will be on building relationships and strengthening the school’s existing successes.
“Successful school cultures are the ones that embrace the challenges, work as teams, and do whatever it takes to ensure that all students learn at high levels,” she said. “My focus will be on building relationships with the staff, students and parents, learning how Meeker Excellence works, and how I can support and build on that success.”
Dr. Atwell said she enjoys working with middle school students because they are at a “unique crossroads in development.”
“They are no longer small children, yet they are not quite teens,” she said. “We get to witness them developing their own identities, opinions, and sense of humor while we build knowledge and skills that ensure they are high school ready. They are often incredibly curious and love the things they are passionate about. They are pretty interesting and a lot of fun to be around. They may hold the secret to life’s energy source.”
She plans to keep families engaged in school life through open communication and community involvement.
“I believe it is important to connect with families, keep them in the loop, and be involved with them in school and community events,” she said. “Every parent has great hopes and dreams for their child and we want to partner in making those attainable.”
Outside of school, Dr. Atwell said she and her husband have built a life they love.
“As a young couple we played softball and hunted, and then for many years, showed AQHA in western pleasure and halter,” she said. “We raised Australian Shepherds for about 20 years, and love Jack Russell terriers. Children came along and our attention turned to team sports. After that stage of life, we turned our focus to cattle, hunting, camping and traveling. I got pretty good at homemade wine making, but fell out of practice. We have a small cow/calf farm, and can manage to work cows together and remain on speaking terms, mostly. If you know, you know.
“We enjoy archery and rifle deer hunting, with some of our best times together on an elk hunt or in tree stands over corn and soybean fields in Missouri. We enjoy time with our grandchildren, so we play Memory and Old Maid, and are working our way through all the good Disney movies again. I still cry at ‘Old Yeller.’ We are ready to hear the elk bugle and watch the aspen change.”
With her deep experience and passion for rural education, Dr. Atwell looks forward to becoming an active part of the Meeker community and guiding Barone Middle School toward continued success in the years ahead.
A stop on the way through Meeker for breakfast serendipitously turned into a new opportunity for Dr. Debra Atwell, who brings more than 30 years experience in education to her new position as principal at Barone Middle School.
Great story Jared! Thanks for introducing our new Principal.