Different voices of Loveland High School students, in a recent podcast, described Principal Todd Ball as kind, quirky, compassionate, dedicated and inspirational.
“The rock,” said another student on the most recent episode of “The Peak of Existence.” “He’s the foundation.”
After 11 years leading Loveland High School and 33 years working in the Thompson School District, Ball is retiring at the end of the school year — the same year that marks the 40th anniversary of his own 1981 graduation from Loveland High School.
“It’s a special place, Loveland High,” said Ball. “I’m proud to be part of it.”
But after a more than three-decade career teaching science and finding ways to make it fun, coaching swimming and then leading both Bill Reed Middle School and Loveland High School, Ball has decided to retire, to spend time hiking and biking, to volunteer and “to take time to smell the roses.”
“There’s no good time or bad time, it’s just time,” said Ball. “I’ve done my best, and it’s just time.”
Unparalleled impact
He has touched the lives of students and their families, of educators and of others throughout his long career, seeing education progress from the beginnings of having one computer in a classroom to, this year, providing a laptop to every student. He has shared in the successes of athletes, thespians, musicians, reveled in graduation and the bright futures of his students, and has inspired many.
Jenny Sparks / Loveland Reporter-Herald
In this photo from 2015, Todd Ball poses for a photo at Loveland High School after being named the Thompson Education Foundation’s educator of the year. In a student podcast recorded this month, Ball said the word “pride” is one he uses to describe Loveland High School.“Todd has truly been an inspiration to everyone he’s been involved with,” said Bill Siebers, chief human resources officer for the district, who was mentored by Ball when Siebers first became a principal at Turner Middle School years ago. “The impact that he’s made on students, families, staff, the community is unparalleled to anything we’ve seen these days.”
He spoke of Ball’s dedication and loyalty, adding, “He is so caring. He’s just a person that cares. He’s a great listener. He is very visionary.”
Ball’s vision included giving students a voice in their own education, listening to them and to teachers and allowing creativity in learning. Ball mentioned the importance of student voice during the podcast in his honor — a program that students created under that freedom Ball has fostered.
He also spoke of other innovative programs that have flourished including Geometry in Construction, which allows students to learn math and construction skills while giving back to the community by building an actual house that they then donate to Habitat for Humanity.
“He has been supportive, generous, patient, caring and always tried to do what is right for students, staff and the community that is part of LHS,” teacher Michael Pintaric wrote in an email. “He has given the staff the freedom to think outside the box educationally so that we can help give our students the opportunity to learn and grow as individuals on a daily basis.”
Unquestionable integrity
Parent Jody Shadduck-McNally has had three students in schools where Ball was the principal and said her family “feels lucky and grateful for his leadership.” She asked her children about Ball and they spoke of his “unquestionable integrity, outstanding character and boundless kindness.”
Jenny Sparks / Reporter-Herald
In this photo from 2016, Todd Ball, Loveland High principal, right, gets his game face on and opens a bag for Turner Middle School principal Derrick Martin to drop food into Wednesday during a race to pack bags of food for Kids Pak at Subaru of Loveland.And while Ball can be found throughout Loveland High School, woven across all aspects of education, at extracurricular activities, interacting with students in the hallway, Shadduck-McNally will always remember him standing out in front of both Bill Reed and Loveland High every morning, greeting students and offering a friendly smile.
“That spoke volumes,” she said. “He spoke with his actions. I always felt confident driving away that it was a safe, welcoming and great learning environment.”
She spoke of how, in everything he did, Ball put students first every day. And Marc Heiser, assistant principal at Loveland High, said that during Ball’s years at Loveland High, student achievement has grown as has the support available for students and staff with a philosophy of meeting students’ individual needs, whether they require extra help or additional challenges.
Ball has empowered creative ways to teach and engage students, Heiser said, by saying yes to new ideas.
“He’s given his heart and soul,” said Heiser. “He can look back on what he’s done here and know that he made a difference in people’s personal lives as well as for students and their academic achievements.”
Genuine and kind
Ball is leaving after 11 years as head principal at Loveland High School. He said he chose to stay on this year, to lead the school during an important and challenging time in education, when classes were moving online at times during the pandemic, and everything was changing rapidly.
But now, after decades of teaching and mentoring, he said he is ready to pass the baton.
“There’s incredible people in our district that will come in and make it shine,” said Ball. “I have no thought that Loveland High School won’t get an incredible principal that will make it soar.”
Jenny Sparks / Loveland Reporter-Herald
Loveland High School Principal Todd Ball, center, interacts with staff and administrators in 2014 on a day that staff dressed as pirates to motivate students.Siebers said the position is open for applicants through Sunday, and the district is planning on conducting interviews March 22-23.
But he acknowledged it will be tough to find someone to replace Ball, who has been part of the district since he moved to Loveland in second grade and who has had such an impact on so many educators and students.
“You talk about the word kindness, and you talk about the word genuine, he just lives it,” Heiser said. “I’ve seen it in his interactions with students, families and staff.”
When talking about his career, Ball repeatedly mentions the thousands of students with whom he has interacted. He said their achievements are humbling and the students are amazing, each with different paths, different successes and different futures.
One defining moment, he said, was in the early 2000s when, as principal of Bill Reed Middle School, he led the staff in creating a welcoming learning environment for a transgender student, transitioning gender identity from sixth to seventh grade.
“You always want to do everything for each student,” said Ball, who was later invited to present about supporting students during a conference of the American Psychological Association. That, Ball said, was “pretty powerful as a principal.”
In 2015, the Thompson Education Foundation named Ball its educator of the year.
And alongside the big moments, Ball also mentioned, in his podcast interview with student Lindsay Spence, the small but wonderful things that happen every day — “It’s those impromptu small things that happens every day. If you open your eyes, there’s something good every day.”
He spoke in the podcast about how he will remember those, along with the fact that each student, each teacher, each person has made their own unique contribution to the special place that Loveland High School is, has been and will continue to be in the future.
“I will be an advocate for Loveland High School always,” Ball told Spence in the podcast. “I love the place.”
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February 28, 2021 at 09:41AM
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Loveland High Principal Todd Ball retiring after ‘visionary,’ ‘inspirational’ career - Loveland Reporter-Herald
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