“It just got real,” Tom Swaninger, the Sedona-Oak Creek School District’s new superintendent, remarked as the lights dimmed in the Sedona Performing Arts Center on Monday, July 31, as he made his formal 15-minute introduction to returning SOCSD staff prior to the beginning of the school year.

“In some ways, it’s a new beginning,” Swaninger said. “The people are new, the district is new from my perspective. But in a lot of ways it’s the same as many places I’ve been. “One of the beautiful things about being an educator [is] you can step away for a bit, [but] you’re always working. I know, I’m married to a teacher. Then that first day is getting closer and as much as we love what to do, that day is getting closer and closer. You think, ‘I don’t know if I’m ready for this.’ Then you come together, and everyone’s smiling and happy to see each other.”

The start of the school year follows several administrative changes within the district, including the retirement of Dennis Dearden, who filled dual roles as SOCSD superintendent and, as a cost-saving measure, principal of Sedona Red Rock High School. Heather Isom is now SRRHS principal. Swaninger said that his first impression was that staff are united in a common bond and mission and that he was starting in a good place by “seeing everybody enjoy each other’s company. I hope to do everything that I can to be a part of that as well,” he said.

“It’s important that we not only know each other as educators, but as human beings,” Swaninger told his staff. “One of the things that I’m committed to is, I know that you are not just a third-grade teacher, you are a dad, you are mom, you’re [a sibling to someone], you’re [a] friend. For us to connect at a very human level, I think it’s critical. So you get to listen to a little bit about me, of who I am as a person, and then you send them kind of some core philosophies or beliefs that I have, both as a person but also as an educator.”

Swaninger’s path to being an educator started in upstate Michigan. He enjoyed being in the water as a kid and later became an All-American swimmer as well as playing high school football.

Swaninger attributed “my adventurous spirit and my curiosity about people and the world around me” to his mother, Jan, who was a travel agent.

After his father, Roger, Swaninger said that he “probably learned more about leadership from my coaches growing up than anyone else.”

He described catching the teaching “bug” while coaching high schoolers for U.S. Swimming while he was in college, where he had originally intended to pursue a dental career.

“Being in a position to help another person achieve their goals is a feeling like no other,” Swaninger said. “To develop potential into reality — to provide hope in others when maybe hope is lost for a time — I consider it a gift to serve in such a role. I often miss my coaching days, but I realize that is exactly what I have the opportunity to do in my current role. I believe that my greatest fulfillments come from guiding others in achieving their dreams.”

After being in the classroom for 15 years, he enrolled at Northern Arizona University to pursue a doctorate in education leadership after previously earning a master’s degree in counseling from Oakland University and a bachelor’s degree in education from Arizona State University.

Swaninger’s marriage to his high school sweetheart Jill Swaninger has lasted longer than his career in education. The couple married after Swaninger moved back to Michigan after graduating from ASU. After returning to Arizona in 2011, Swaninger worked for the Chandler Unified School, EduPrize Schools and most recently for the Queen Creek Unified School District, where he was the principal of the 1,300-student Eastmark High School.

Jill Swaninger also teaches high school English in the Phoenix metro area and the couple has three daughters. Swaninger has said that she will be looking for a teaching position at SOCSD or elsewhere in the Verde Valley. The couple is preparing their Phoenix-area residence for sale and hopes to have it sold next month.

“Once that happens, we will ramp up our home search in Sedona,” Swaninger said. “Jill, and my younger daughters, Holly and Phoebe, will be joining me in Sedona. My oldest daughter [Macy] is attending ASU. We are all very excited for the move but know it will take a bit of time. We are a very close family so being separated during the week and commuting on the weekend can be hard.”

Swaninger’s personal mantra, which he introduced to SOCSD staff, is “to reinforce and inspire the full potential of every person I interact with so that the world may become a better place through multiplying influence.” He feels that part of his worldview is expressed in the 2006 novel “The Book Thief” by Markus Zusak.

“This beautifully-written novel expresses the power of words in connecting with oneself and with others,” Swaninger said. “But maybe the more impactful theme to me is the importance of kindness in a sometimes cruel word. Adolescence can be a difficult time, but finding the courage to rise above is an important lesson for all. We have a saying in our house and that is, ‘kindness always.’ Our goal is to not only foster a culture of high academic achievement, but also one of care and love for one another.”