Aaron Ruff has been named principal at Evans Middle School pending board approval at the next regular board meeting on March 23, 2020. Ruff is currently serving as the associate principal at Evans. He replaces Principal Dan McGuire, who will retire at the end of the school year.
The Ankeny native is a graduate of Simpson College with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Management and Religion. He has a master’s degree in education from Northwest Missouri State University and in Educational Leadership from Viterbo University in Des Moines. He was a Behavior Disorder (BD) teacher and Behavior Interventionist in Des Moines Public Schools and a middle school physical education teacher at Ankeny. He also coached.
He moved to Ottumwa three years ago as the associate principal in charge of attendance and discipline for grades 9 and 10 at Ottumwa High School. This past year he has served as the associate principal at Evans.
Ruff looks forward to continuing the efforts at Evans. “I’m excited to work with the best staff I’ve ever worked with,” he said.
"As a district, we are looking forward to the smooth transition in leadership from Mr. McGuire to Mr. Ruff," said Superintendent Nicole Kooiker. "We have appreciated the leadership and guidance Mr. McGuire has provided over the past two years and we are extremely excited to transition Mr. Ruff into the head principal role. Mr. Ruff has a strong understanding of trauma-informed instruction and is a certified restorative practices trainer. We plan to continue to focus on relationship building, safety and security, as well as continuing to build a strong culture and improvements in literacy instruction."