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New activities director needs no introduction

Travis Armstrong has been a teacher in the district for 24 years

By Kevin Mertens - Staff Writer | Aug 27, 2023

New activities director/ dean of students Travis Armstrong stops by the high school office to visit with administrative assistant Crystal Smith.

When Travis Armstrong officially assumed the position of activities director/dean of students at Blue Earth Area High School this summer, he joined a select group of individuals to have held that particular job.

“I think I am the fourth person to be the activities director and I knew the previous two,” Armstrong says. “People I have talked to believe Chuck Beyer was the first person to have the athletic/activities director title. He was followed by Dick Maher and then by my predecessor, Rob Norman.”

Norman’s last official day on the job was June 30. He had been the activities director/dean of students for 27 years. Maher held the position for 22 years and Beyer had the job for 27 years.

“This is where I plan to be through the end of my career here at BEA,” Armstrong comments. “But, I don’t think I will reach the 20-year mark at this job.”

Armstrong is a 1990 graduate of the Blue Earth-Frost-Winnebago-Delavan School District when Maher was the activities director/dean of students.

“After high school I started my college career at Gustavus Adolphus College,” Armstrong, a native of Winnebago, shares. “I finished getting my teaching degree at Mankato State University (now Minnesota State – Mankato).”

Armstrong taught for one year (1996) in the Chatfield School District before returning to Gustavus to work on his master’s degree.

During his first stint at Gustavus, Armstrong was a kicker for the football team and was also a member of the baseball team. When he returned to the school to work towards his master’s degree, he also worked as a graduate assistant coach for the football team.

“I started my career at Blue Earth Area in 1999 as a science teacher,” he explains. “I spent 24 years in the classroom before taking on this new job.”

While he is excited about his new job, he notes there are things he will miss about being in front of the students teaching.

“I got to make connections with the kids everyday by being their instructor,” Armstrong mentions. “Teaching can be very rewarding when former students come back and tell you how much what they learned in your classroom helped them, not only in college and their job, but also how it has helped them in their life.”

Although he may not be in the classroom every day now, he will substitute teach from time to time when teachers/coaches have to leave early to go to contests.

“And, I still want to make an impact with the students and their parents in my new job,” he states. “I will be on site for as many home events as possible. I want the parents and kids to be comfortable with me. I want to be out there – be available.”

Armstrong still has a senior daughter, Addison, who is active in athletics and other activities. He realizes he may miss some of her events.

“That may be the toughest part of this job,” he says. “Thankfully, she has a lot of home gymnastics meets this year so I will be able to watch her in those.”

Armstrong’s wife, Tami, is also employed by BEA as a social worker. Their oldest daughter, Téa, graduated from BEA in 2021 and is a junior at the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire where she is a member of the tennis team.

Armstrong has also been involved in coaching a number of sports in Blue Earth, either as a head coach or as an assistant, but he is giving up some of those duties.

“I am still an assistant coach with the football team this season, but I will not be coaching boy’s golf this year,” he comments.

Finding people to serve as coaches became one of Armstrong’s jobs when he became the activities director.

“I am also responsible for lining up officials for our home events, scoreboard operators, line judges, ticket takers and everything that is necessary to be the host school for an event,” he explains. “We lost our long-time ticket takers for football this year so I talked my wife into helping out. We also have a wonderful custodial staff that always makes sure BEA is ready to host games, concerts and anything else that comes up.”

Armstrong will also oversee the non-athletic clubs and teams such as the Business Professionals of America (BPA), robotics, speech, One-Act Play, FFA and visual arts, to mention a few.

One of the other big challenges Armstrong faces is something he has no control over – the weather.

“We can have winter snowstorms, or rain and cold weather in the spring,” he says. “Trying to get as many of the activities in as possible will be part of my job.”

When he accepted the job, Norman told Armstrong he was available to try and answer any questions he may have.

“I have reached out a couple of times to Rob but I am striving to figure things out for myself,” Armstrong adds. “It’s part of learning the job.”

He shares that one of his goals is to focus on improving respect and sportsmanship. And, as the dean of students, he will be working with students and teachers on behavioral issues.

“We can do a lot to show and improve respect in the classroom, in the hallways and in sports,” he comments. “And, that includes the parents. We should be at events to positively cheer for these kids representing BEA.”

Stepping into this new job has definitely added a lot of responsibilities to Armstrong’s plate.

“But, the cool thing is, we have many wonderful people who are willing to help out and contribute,” he concludes. “The support I have received from people throughout the communities within the district has been outstanding. With this help, I look forward to continuing the long tradition of stellar activities at BEA.”