Although Dr. Nicole Rummel, Director of Instruction at Mahomet-Seymour Schools, veered off the education path a little bit during college, she’s known that education is where she wanted to be since she was a girl.
“I always played school, she said. “I always wanted to be a teacher. That was kind of my thing.”
But when Rummel was in an Introduction to Education course during college, she realized that she was also interested in becoming an administrator.
“The professor asked, ‘Who wants to be a principal,’” Rummel remembers. “And I thought, ‘Wait! I could do that!”
“So I think for me, I loved teaching, but as I got moving in the (education) field and became a grade level chair and on the professional development committee in the districts I was teaching in, I very quickly saw that my passion was more in helping teachers develop their craft of teaching.”
Coming to Mahomet-Seymour from El Paso-Gridley, Rummel said that she enjoys curriculum development, helping teachers implement programs into their classrooms, helping them reach a student and developing relationships between new teachers and mentors.
“The highlight of my day is when a teacher come in and says, ‘I’m trying to fine tune this’ or ‘I’m trying to get that,’ ‘Do you have any resources?’
Even with changes in curriculum and programs, Rummel enjoys reading, staying up on current trends and attending Title workshops or ROE meetings.
“I feel like the more information we have, the better we are at making decisions,” she said. “So when I get back to the team, I am able to say these are our options and we can decide what best fits with the mission or goals we are trying to accomplish.”
Rummel said she “wasn’t actively seeking a new job.” But the Mahomet-Seymour community offered an environment that is enticing to her.
“I love curriculum and development; that’s my passion. When this position opened up, it was an opportunity to come to a district that excels, that values education with strong community support. It seemed like a good fit.”
