Kirk Koennecke

Kirk Koennecke is Executive Director of OSRC and Superintendent of the Graham Local Schools in Saint Paris, Ohio. Mr. Koennecke has been actively involved in education for 23 years. Koennecke believes that the present moment is "an important and amazing time to be involved in small and rural school leadership." In his work with OSRC, Koennecke focuses on networking within Ohio's rural schools, and helping to grow the next generation of rural teacher-leaders. "Forces all around us make it hard to connect, hard to spend, and hard to grow the next generation of rural educators. Our aim [at ORSC] is to nourish them and protect them as they learn to manage leadership and next generation learning in schools across Ohio."

Koennecke earned his B.S. in Secondary Education from The Ohio State University. He holds a M.S. in Sport Administration from Miami University of Ohio, and an M.A. in Education Administration from John Carroll University. Koennecke completed his Education Specialist M.S. at Wright State University. Kirk has served in several leadership roles over the years, in quality districts both large and small, urban and rural. In 2007, he was awarded the Close-Caputo Educator of Humanity Award for his leadership in urban education. Kirk has presented at the local, state, and national levels, and has been published in several educational journals. Kirk makes his home in Saint Paris, Ohio with his wife Susie. They have five children.

To connect with Kirk, email him at koenneckek@grahamlocalschools.org or find him on Twitter @GLSSuperFalcon