“My whole family’s in education,” he said. “My parents both worked in the school district I grew up in. My mom was a principal and secretary and my dad was a social studies teacher and dean of students. My aunts and uncles worked at Headstart, as classroom teachers, even in social services. [They worked hard] supporting students and families from different communities around Minnesota and Wisconsin. Teaching is in my blood.”

After working in youth camps as a teenager, Koster got a degree in English Education from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. While subbing and then full-time teaching in the Robbinsdale Area School District, Koster got his masters in Educational Administration. Before coming to New Ulm, Koster served for 15 years as the Superintendent at Beacon Academy Charter School in Plymouth.

After initial plans to move out of the metro fell through due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Koster began looking again during Fall 2022. With the criteria Koster and his family had, New Ulm was the perfect fit.

“The town couldn’t be too small,” he said. “My wife’s from Minneapolis and knowing we’re moving to rural Minnesota, the town could not be too small. I wanted [the school district] to be larger than the district I was leaving. My district had 600 students and looking for something with 1,500-2,000 students, New Ulm checked this box. It was very appealing to come to New Ulm and be a part of the community with such a long history of success and tradition.”

Superintendent Sean Koster checks in with Registered Nurse Britta Romsdahl as he makes his rounds at New Ulm Middle School. Koster is familiar with the many roles within a school, as his parents both worked in education.

With that settled, Koster came in to replace retiring Superintendent Jeff Bertrang in the summer of 2023. Koster said the first few days were mainly focused on getting to know the district and all of the people within it. Even after five months, Koster said the biggest challenge he faces is continuing to develop knowledge within the district.

“What I don’t have is an understanding of the last 10 years of the district,” he said. “In my prior role, if I needed to look at a program, I knew how long the program had been in place. I knew why we put it in place. I knew why the leaders had done what they did over the last four or five years. Here I don’t have any of that. A lot of what I’m doing is asking questions. I’m trying to get contextual information to make the best group decisions for New Ulm public schools and to get as much feedback as I can.”

To continue to bolster New Ulm going forward, Koster has set up three goal areas. Communication, Consistency, and Climate are the three C’s he identified for district goals. Koster said each goal has a different identity and objective.

“Communication is about how we communicate with each other and with kids,” he said.

“Consistency is making sure we’re making decisions that are consistent across the schools. We’re making sure people know what to expect when working with District 88.”

“Climate is making sure we have a climate where staff and students want to be here. How people feel matters and [making sure] people are valued, seen, and heard. People won’t always know or remember what was said, but people will remember how they feel when they leave a conversation and that is important.”

Overall, Koster is proud of where the district is. Programs like career and college readiness at the high school, working at the middle school level to understand kids’ needs at a critical level of development, and exploring different ways of learning at the Washington Learning Center were a few strong spots identified by Koster.

“There’s a lot of great things going on with the district and a lot of things to be proud of,” he said.”

“The most rewarding part is when you walk into a classroom, the kids treat you like a rock star,” he said. “The little kids come running up and grab your leg and they’re excited to see you Walking in the middle school and getting the waves and the hellos. With the high schoolers having conversations about where they’re going to college. The highlight of everything here is the students. The efforts staff and students put in are amazing. I absolutely love what I do because of the kids.”

When he came into the position, Koster looked back at the 19 Superintendents before him. He saw the two previous Superintendents had long tenures with growth and prosperity in the district. Koster said he hopes to continue this tradition and push New Ulm Schools further into success, achievement, and student pride.