NIOBRARA COUNTY – Niobrara County School District #1 recently welcomed new superintendent, Dan Schmidt.  Schmidt’s predecessor, George Mirich, retired in June 2024.

Schmidt who was born and raised in Northeast Colorado in the Wages community. After graduating from high school, Schmidt attended college in Montana. He earned a bachelor’s degree in 1990. Then, continued his time in academia as a student teacher in Colorado. He is a music teacher by trade, specializing in both band and choir. He eventually focused on choral instead of band. That way, he could take his voice everywhere with him.  His first teaching job was in Colorado.

Schmidt has 10 years of teaching. However, he did work year as a principal. He then moved into the role of superintendent and, 18-years later, he continues to work in that role.

“Music was a great training ground before moving into the role as superintendent,” Schmidt said. “It is so similar to music because you learn to teach K through 12. You work on and provide skills and it was a great way to get into administration.” 

Schmidt’s mentor had also transitioned from the role of a music teacher to that of a superintendent.

“He said that there are so many similarities between how you’re building a program in music and what needs to be done as a district superintendent and how that needs to be done. I just kept that in mind,” Schmidt said.  “After seven years in the classroom and finishing my degree in administration, I needed to pay my student loans. So, I joined the army.”

Schmidt who was 31-years-old at the time, joined the army and served for four years until he experienced an injury.

“I had a really great time, but within a year after 9-11, I had injured myself. So, I went back into the education field,” said Schmidt. “After three more years, I went onto become principal and on from there.”

Schmidt moved to Lusk with his family. His two children are grown. His son has followed in his footsteps, joining and serving in the army. His son lives in Montana and works for Tribal Fish and Game. He and his wife have been married for 35 years and have been raising their granddaughter from birth. This arrangement was made with his daughter, who will be a sophomore this year.

Schmidt spent six years in Poplar, Montana on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation working as superintendent.

Schmidt told the Herald that his experience was unique working on the Reservation. He said that he was the second-longest superintendent that had been employed at that school.

“I enjoyed the culture in the Native American community,” Schmidt said. “It wasn’t without its trials and tribulations. But, I was the second-longest tenured superintendent since 1938. The other guy had been there for 11 years. It was really a busy six years and I really wanted to try something else.”

One of Schmidt’s proudest achievements that he was a project with the school’s facilities.

“I’m most proud of that because that was a student-led initiative that really showed what they were capable of designing and developed for future generations,” Schmidt explained to the Herald. “At the time, we did a lot of safety and security updates, too.”

Schmidt had actually applied all over Wyoming for employment. He wanted to be closer to his mother, who still lives on their family farm.

“It just made sense to be closer to my mom without being in Colorado,” Schmidt said.

After the looking at three positions, he landed in Niobrara County. The appeal of Niobrara County was the fact that it was a small district. Schmidt also really liked that it was a ranching and farming community. He had been through Lusk a few times, but had never really looked at the community the job opportunity availed itself.

“I counted on a great community and that is what we have found,” Schmidt said. “It is just what you find in rural America with hard work, but people still like to have their fun too.”

Looking forward, Schmidt said he is getting to know the district.

“I do think that I need to take some assessments and learn from some people,” said Schmidt. “Really keep the best of what we got and then make plans on what needs to be done. I think the things that we’re doing with Win Culture is really important.”

“For me, I am really investing into the community,” Schmidt said. “I really need to understand family and community connections, just getting into that and being honest. And, I want to give grace. Failures are something we have, but it is important to be learning from those failures. “