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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.