Tracey Petteys is the new principal at Northwood High School.
NORTHWOOD — Tracey Petteys does not like to toot her own horn.
“I’m just not a big talker,” she said when this interview started.
Petteys has spent more than 20 years with Northwood Schools, starting as band director. This summer she was named high school principal – the first female to hold that title in the district.
“It’s Northwood,” she said when asked what interested her in the principal’s position. “I love Northwood. I’ve spent my entire career with the exception of one year here and I love the community, the staff and our students.”
Petteys is starting her 22nd year at Northwood after spending 16 years as the band director, then five years as assistant principal for K-12 then grades 7-12.
She was promoted when Principal Erik Johnson left to be supervisor of student services and student affairs at Penta Career Center.
“I wanted to move forward and be a bigger part of education and Northwood is the perfect place,” Petteys said.
Being the first female high school principal “is exciting,” she said. “I hope I am a role model to people. … You don’t see as many female principals.”
Petteys said she is a big believer in collaboration and working with Northwood staff to find a system that works best for the students.
The Vermillion native studied music education (her primary instrument is trumpet) at Bowling Green State University.
She started playing the trumpet in sixth grade “and just loved it. My band director was a big influence in my life. I really liked what he was doing, and I learned a lot from him.”
Playing music was a great outlet and since she knew she wanted to be a teacher, the two meshed into a career.
While she was teaching in Sandusky Central Catholic Schools, her roommate saw the opening for a band director at Northwood.
Petteys has taught in all of Northwood’s buildings, including Olney and Lark elementaries and the middle school. The district consolidated into one K-12 building in 2017.
She earned a master’s in curriculum from BGSU and her administrative lice from the University of Findlay.
Petteys said there are things she can do in the principal’s office to continue moving forward but didn’t want to get too specific.
“I like the vision that we have here, that our focus is on student growth, student performance, and I’m working forward to working with that vision to move our students forward.”
Her husband, Eric, works in North Baltimore and although the couple lives in Perrysburg, “Northwood is my home.”
While serving as band director, Petteys also was events manager working with the athletic teams. Through that, she met more of the community.
“It’s neat to see (kids) K-12 grow. A lot of them I met as assistant principal I saw in kindergarten.”
Seeing the children of her earliest students is fun and she said the young ones will tell her she had their parents in band.
“Every time they see me that’s how they know me,” Petteys said.
She wants to focus on this job, she said, but can see herself moving further up in command.
“Right now, I want to make sure I’m giving everything I have here.”
