Meet Maple's new district administrator: Karl Morrin

Aug. 15—MAPLE — Karl Morrin is counting down the days until school starts.

"I love when the teachers come back, and the kids come back and just get into the routine of things," said Morrin, the

new district administrator for the Maple School District.

He's been dropping by the Tiger's Den day care, the Northwestern High School weight room and football practice to visit with students and get to know folks. That will turn into a full court press when school begins. The hands-on administrator, who was nicknamed "Supe" by students in the Florence County School District last year, plans to be very visible.

"I make a routine of going to each building every day and stopping in," to engage with students and see what's going on in classrooms, he said.

Morrin expects to take his laptop along and spend Wednesdays working out of Iron River Elementary School, for example.

Visibility won't stop at the end of the school day. When there are sporting events, concerts, plays and other activities, people can expect to see Morrin there. It's what he did in Florence County.

"I was at all the events. I was at every volleyball game, basketball game, football game. It's just something that I do ... your school (district) is kind of the center ... of the community." said Morrin, 54.

For the district administrator, who graduated from Washburn High School and the University of Wisconsin-Superior, this is a homecoming.

"I grew up most of my life in this area, and I love it," he said, and plans to stay in Maple until retirement.

Open up the topic of sports, and Morrin takes that ball and runs with it. His fandom is eclectic, ranging from Nebraska and Kansas teams to the Minnesota Vikings. In high school he was a basketball center and football wide receiver/defensive end. His resume includes basketball coach, physical education teacher, principal, special education director and assistant superintendent.

He's impressed with Tiger athletics, a strength he's tested first hand.

"My senior year we played them in the Ashland Tournament in basketball and we beat them by 13. And they were loaded. They had Jeff Anttila, Mickey Graff," Morrin recalled.

He also has perspective from his work on the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Board of Control. Morrin is starting his second term and recently finished a year as the first Native American president of the WIAA.

"Besides my kids being born, that was my greatest accomplishment I've ever been able to do is be elected as board president," said Morrin, a member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. "I am actually the first Native American to hold the presidency not only in Wisconsin but in the 50 organizations in the country."

The student artwork hanging outside the district office is something Morrin appreciates daily, as well.

"That's something that I really love is seeing — the kids, the art stuff and the choir and the plays and the band. To me, that's just as important as the athletics," he said.

The district has a lot of strengths, he said, from the supportive community to quality teachers and staff. Academically and athletically, it offers so many things for students.

"In my opinion, it's the best district up in northern Wisconsin," said Morrin, the father of two adult sons. "This is the only place I wanted to be ... if I was going to move back home, back to the area, this was the job that I wanted."

It took him 29 years to come home, he said, but "I couldn't be happier."

At a recent board retreat, the district laid out a set of goals for the coming year:

* Increase student achievement

* Support mental health for students

* Funding options for long-range capital project plans, including investing in renewable energy

* Attract and retain high-quality instructors and support staff

* Set up step compensation model for support staff

* Promoting communication with municipalities, the community members, staff and students.

"I want to make sure that if something's happening, we get it out to our communities and are being very transparent," Morrin said. "And just let them know that my door is always open."