Getting to know Dr. Meisenheimer

Story and Photo by Areesa Steele – Staff Reporter

 

Principal Dr. Jeff Meisenheimer has a huge influence over the school. He has worked in education for over 20 years. 

“It took me four years to get through my undergraduate and then I guess probably two to three years for each degree after that,” Dr. Meisenheimer said.

Meisenheimer went to many different schools to complete what he wanted in life.

“I went to the University of Missouri Columbia for my undergraduate, then I went to UMKC for my masters and my specialists, and I went to St. Louis University for my doctorate,” Dr. Meisenheimer said.

In many different ways, he is just like everyone else. He is very supportive of his daughters’ sports and the school’s sports. 

“In my free time, I go to a lot of sporting events. So either one of my daughter’s softball or volleyball games. If I’m not doing that then I usually go to a Lee’s Summit North activity and if I’m not doing that I like to read and pill around the house,” Dr. Meisenheimer said.

Although he is a bronco now, he has not been a bronco his whole career. Most students would not know that he has actually worked at different schools.

“I’ve been a principal at Lee’s Summit North for nine years. I was an assistant principal at Lee’s Summit High School for nine years. I was an assistant principal at Ruscan High School for four years and I was a teacher at Ruscan for four years,” Dr. Meisenheimer said.

While he has an important role in the school, Dr. Meisenheimer’s daily life is very different each day. 

“There is no typical daily basis, so every day looks so different. I have a lot of meetings, some of them are scheduled, some of them are impromptu and that’s a lot of what I do is meetings,” Dr. Meisenheimer said.

Some students might think that him having meetings all the time and being in his office is what he really enjoys about his job, but actually, it’s something completely different.

“My favorite part is I guess after school supervision, like seeing students, whether it is the theater or its music or its sports or whatever it is, just seeing kids enjoying their passion,” Dr. Meisenheimer said.

Even though every day looks different, Dr. Meisenheimer’s favorite part of the day always stays the same.

“I would say [what gets me through the day] is whenever I get to be out in the hallways and interact with the students and teachers,” Dr. Meisenheimer said.

There are many things that the students do not know about Dr. Meisenheimer, but one thing that the students can feel confident about is that he works hard to make the school the best it can be.