Welcome, Dr. Don Ridder, Holy Cross Principal

WELCOME, Dr. Don Ridder to the Consortium family!

Supporters, please enjoy this letter from Dr. Ridder, who will begin as the new principal at Holy Cross Catholic School next month.

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I feel blessed by God to be a part of this amazing school and parish community. I am looking forward to meeting all the students, staff, parents, and parish community. I could not be more grateful and thrilled to be the Principal at Holy Cross Catholic School.

My wife Brenda and I have been married for 37 amazing years. Brenda is a 4th grade teacher at the Millard – Harvey Oaks School in Omaha. God has blessed us with three children all of whom are married and live in the Omaha area. Kristina, our oldest, is a Kindergarten teacher at St. Patrick’s School and her husband, Josh, is a district manager for Verizon. They are proud parents of their five-year-old daughter, Olivia, and of their two-year-old son, Henry. Jake, our second, and his wife Katelin are proud parents of twins, Avery and Colten, who are 3 months old. They are both Physician’s Assistants (PA). Jake works as a Dermatology PA and Katelin works as an Orthopedic PA. Bridget, our youngest, is going to PA school at the Med Center and her husband Jimmy, is a fire fighter.

I received my Associates Degree in General Agriculture from UNL, a BA in Business Education from Wayne State College, a Master’s Degree in Educational Administration from UNO, a Specialist Degree and Superintendent’s Endorsement from UNL, and a Doctorate in Education in Interdisciplinary Leadership at Creighton University.

Before I decided to become an educator, I worked on my family farm west of West Point, Nebraska for three years. I started my teaching career in Valley, Nebraska, where I was the Business and Computer teacher. I also coached football, basketball, and track, along with sponsoring the Future Business Leaders of America program. I have been blessed with the privilege of serving as a president of Norfolk Catholic for two years, principal for twenty-eight years, twenty-one as a Catholic elementary principal in Omaha (Mary Our Queen, St. Patrick’s, and Holy Name) and seven as a 7-12 public school principal (Benedict and Crete, Nebraska).

Please contact me at  dridder@omahacsc.org or 402-850-6891 if  you need anything else from me. God Bless you and your family.

Yours in Christ,

Dr. Don Ridder, Ed.D.

Principal of Holy Cross Catholic School

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We look forward to what this community can accomplish in the 2019-2020 school year with Dr. Ridder’s leadership. Please join us in support and prayer for he and all of our Holy Cross families in this transition.