Hamilton High principal follows in father’s footsteps

Two months into John Wilhelm’s first semester as Hamilton High School principal, he reflected on the current role of an educator with a man who worked in the Talawanda School District for over 30 years, and who served as a model for years for his future career: his father.

Marvin Wilhelm was originally born in Indiana, but “Mr. Talawanda,” as he is known in the school district, spent many years in Oxford schools both as a student and an administrator. Moving from Bath, Ind., as one of eight children, Marvin Wilhelm attended McGuffey School, and graduated from Miami University in 1954. After two years outside of the county as a teacher and coach in Tipp City, he served the Talawanda School District as a teacher, coach and administrator until his retirement in 1991.

He sees the era of his career in Talawanda as the “golden era” of education.

“They were super years for coaches, teachers and administrators,” he said. “It’s very difficult now for administrators, coaches, and teachers, with less availability, less contact for students and parents to talk to them more frequently.”

John Wilhelm, who filled the high school principal’s seat after Doug Leist left the district in June to become principal at Kings High School in Warren County, served as assistant principal at Hamilton High for one year, and prior to that, worked for the Monroe School District for nine years.

When thinking about how his father’s career may have influenced him, he cites his father’s efforts to be present at the Talawanda school events as a main implementation in his own position.

“When I was little, I tagged along, and we were always attending events and being around people,” he said. “I go to a preponderance of events, and it’s a huge commitment.”

He added that the response from his students make the effort worthwhile.

“I use Twitter, and I tweet every event I go to with a picture, because I want students to know that I’m committed to them and to the school,” he said.

He didn’t entirely agree with his father about when the “golden era of education” took place, however.

“Students today have more opportunities and chances to receive the education than ever before,” he said. “The ability to support whatever desire they have is stunning. We treat every student as if they are going to be successful, and I don’t know if that was the same when I was growing up.”

Marvin Wilhelm recalled how growing up in a family with eight boys, a higher education was a privilege only those going into religious studies were afforded. He agreed that technology and special programs have improved the learning accessibility for students now versus when he or his children were going through the system.

“Now every high school student at Talawanda has a Chromebook, which was a huge investment by the school district,” he said.

But the anxiety levels of students these days are higher than John Wilhelm recalls feeling when he was in their place.

“I always tell them, you’ve got 40 years to work; be a kid, enjoy your time in high school,” he said.

He hopes to leave the same mark on the Hamilton City School District as his father did in Talawanda.

“The level of respect shown toward my father was always in the back of my mind,” he said. “It’s neat to hear stories about his impact on people, neat to think I could have that same impact.”

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