Todd Dempsey Named Riverbend Principal for the 2021-2022 School Year
PACIFIC, MO (January 21, 2021) - During the regularly scheduled January School Board meeting, Todd Dempsey was hired to serve as the principal of Riverbend Middle School for the 2021-22 school year. Mr. Dempsey will be replacing Dr. Andy Arbeitman who is retiring at the end of the current school year. Dempsey possesses a Bachelor of Arts degree from Blackburn College in Carlinville, IL and a Masters in Secondary Education from Missouri Baptist University in St. Louis, MO.
Dempsey is actually returning to the Meramec Valley R-III School District where he previously spent 17 years as an Art teacher and Soccer Coach at Pacific High School. In 2018, Mr. Dempsey accepted a position as the Vice Principal at St. Francis Borgia Regional High School and is in his third year in that role.
Mr. Dempsey shared his desire to return to MVR-III as a principal to continue building on the impact he had with students and families in the community is what drew him to this opportunity. Dempsey noted, “I have fond memories of the long-standing relationships I built with the faculty, students, families, and community while serving as a teacher in Pacific. The MVR-III School District has been an integral part in shaping the person I am today.”
Dempsey will be tasked in his first year with the initializing the implementation of the district’s Re-imagine MVR-III goals focusing on improving transitions for students in 8th grade to high school, increased focus on college and career pathways, and alignment of grading practices and expectations. Dempsey stated, “I look forward to the opportunity to work with the Riverbend faculty, students, and community for many years to come. I am humbled by the opportunity to serve in the MVR-III School District once again. This is my home, and I am truly excited to be back…Once an Indian. Always an Indian.”
MVR-III superintendent, Dr. John Mulford, stated, “We are excited to be bringing Mr. Dempsey back to MVR-III. I believe Mr. Dempsey and our assistant principal, Dr. Jill Johler, both have a similar vision and philosophy and I look forward to seeing what the two of them, along with their faculty and staff can accomplish as a team.”
