A native son will take over as principal of De Soto High School next school year.
The De Soto Board of Education voted unanimously Dec. 15 to promote Jon Roop, a 2004 De Soto High graduate and the school’s current activities director and assistant principal, to the top job at the school.
Roop will succeed John Daniels, who will retire at the end of this school year, after five years as principal.
Superintendent Josh Isaacson said the board interviewed two candidates for the position.
“(Roop) was selected after several interviews with students, parents, staff and the Board of Education,” Isaacson said. “Mr. Roop is an energetic individual who has demonstrated his desire to have the best for all De Soto students. As a De Soto alumni, Jon Roop truly has the heart of a Dragon and is invested in our community.”
Daniels’ current salary is $115,075. Roop is being paid $90,188 in his current job and will be paid $110,000 as principal.
Daniels
Daniels, 52, is completing his 30th year in education.
Before joining the De Soto School District in 2018, he taught and coached in the Cuba, Owensville, Richmond and Hannibal school districts. He also was the assistant principal and eighth-grade football coach and assistant softball coach at Richmond Middle School for eight years.
With the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic posed, as well as tragic losses of staff members and students, during his tenure, Daniels said he’s glad he had the experience to guide the school.
“I’m thankful I was about 50 years old rather than 30,” he said. “I’m glad I was in a position that I could help people.”
Daniels said he’s leaving the school in a good place.
“We’ve seen growth in our student performance scores, and being in education, that’s obviously our primary purpose,” he said. “We’ve also seen a growth in our culture, both among our students and our staff. I feel like I’m definitely leaving the building in a good position. And I can say that I have been smart enough to stay out of our teachers’ way and let them do what they’re best at.”
He said his time at De Soto High has been rewarding.
“The biggest benefit I’ve had are the people I’ve worked with through the years,” he said. “And as a teacher, coach and administrator, I’ve been in a position to impact some lives. That’s why I went into education, and that’s its greatest reward.”
He said he’s looking forward to retirement.
“My wife (Teresa) and I will be moving back to the Kansas City area,” he said. “My older daughter (Megan Greer) and her husband live there with our 2-month-old grandson, and we want to be closer to them.”
Daniels said Roop will do a fine job next school year.
“He’s been very successful in his current job, and they (the board) made a good choice. And he’s De Soto to the core,” Daniels said. “I think when I came in, a different perspective was needed, but he will fill a different kind of role. He was born here, he went to school here. He knows what’s needed.”
Isaacson said Daniels will be missed.
“Throughout his time at De Soto, he has worked to exemplify what it means to be part of the De Soto family and strived to advance opportunities for students,” Isaacson said. “We wish him all of the best in his future endeavors.”
Roop
Roop, 37, has been the activities director and assistant principal at De Soto High since 2020.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in secondary education at Westminster College, where he played football for four years. He also has a master’s degree in educational administration and a specialist degree in educational leadership.
Between stints at Grandview High School (2008-2012) and Herculaneum High School (2018-2020), he returned to De Soto in the fall of 2012 to teach geography and history and coach at De Soto Junior High.
“I absolutely wanted to return to De Soto,” he said. “This community always has meant a lot to me.”
Roop said he remembered walking down the halls of De Soto High as a student and thinking of his future.
“I knew at the time I wanted to be in education,” he said. “Certainly, I wasn’t thinking of that level (being a principal), but my time at De Soto inspired me to enter education. It was the great teachers and coaches I had back then.”
He said he is “extremely excited” to guide his alma mater.
“At the same time, it’s a very humbling experience,” he said.
He credited Daniels with helping his career.
“Mr. Daniels has been an incredible mentor to me the last three years,” Roop said. “He has really worked hard to move the needle concerning student achievement and success, and I am really proud to have been a part of what he’s done. I’ve learned a lot from him. I just hope I can continue to move that needle a little more.”
Roop’s wife, Samantha, is the theater teacher at the high school.
“My wife and I are an excellent team,” he said. “We support each other and I think she’s excited for me. I feel like I have the best high school theater teacher in the United States, and it just happens to be my wife.”
He and Samantha have two sons, Jon, a second-grader, and Jaxon, a kindergartner, both at Vineland Elementary, and three dogs, Maggie, Chloe and Maverick.
Roop said he will be involved in the process to name a new activities director and assistant principal.
“I expect that search will begin soon,” he said.