Ashley Braucksieck began her new role a few months ago as the Otsego School District’s first female high school principal, but she didn’t have to go very far from her previous job. She was a school counselor at Otsego before her promotion to high school principal. (supplied photo)
TONTOGANY — The new principal at Otsego High School figures she is right where she wants to be at this stage in her career.
“I love the rural community,” said Ashley Braucksieck. “The students here seem to care for each other and the community feel is just great. I love it here.”
She began her new role a few months ago as the Otsego School District’s first female high school principal, but she didn’t have to go very far from her previous job. She was a school counselor at Otsego before her promotion to high school principal.
Braucksieck said she sees many similarities in her new role as compared to her previous one.
“There are so many things that are the same in both jobs,” she said..
Braucksieck took over her new role from Kevin O’Shea, who served Otsego in a dual role last year as both high school principal and superintendent.
“He did a great job doing both (positions). I have some big shoes to fill.”
Braucksieck said she was in high school herself when she decided to make education her career.
“I was about 16 (years old) when I made the decision to get into education as a career path.”
Growing up in the Columbus suburb of Plain City, she attended Jonathon Alder High School.
She chose Bowling Green State University as her next step for post-high school education.
“(BGSU) is nationally recognized as one of the top colleges in the country for its education curriculum,” Braucksieck said. “Columbus is a big city, but Bowling Green seemed just the right size, and it just seemed to be the perfect fit for me.”
There, she obtained her Bachelor of Science degree in Human Development and Family Studies.
After earning her BS degree, she continued to attend BGSU to obtain her master’s degree in school counseling. She returned to BGSU last fall to obtain her building principal certification.
She said she chose school counseling over becoming a teacher.
“I wanted to lead, and school counselling is a great leadership role. No matter what role you play, it’s still education.”
Before she began as a school counselor at Otsego, she worked as a school counselor at Toledo Christian School from 2013-16 before going to Liberty Center during the 2017-22 school years.
Otsego has about 1,500 students in three grade levels. The elementary school is comprised of pre-kindergarten to fifth grade, and the junior high school is made up of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders. Otsego’s high school, which has about 500 students, is ninth through 12th grades.
Braucksieck said she feels fortunate to have landed at Otsego.
“The leadership here is so good. We have a very supportive staff, and that is good for both students and staff members.”
She and her husband, Ryan, a self-employed painter, have three sons ranging in ages 1-6. They live within walking distance to the schools.
“I’ve thought about getting a golf cart to go back and forth to the schools,” Braucksieck quipped.
Although she is perfectly fine with where she is at in her career, that doesn’t mean the high school principal doesn’t have other aspirations.
She said she wants to explore becoming a school superintendent somewhere down the road.
“It’s something that I’ve thought about (for in the future), but I’m very happy with where I’m at right now.”
