WEST FARGO — James Moe has worn many hats in the public education sector over the last 14 years.
Previously a longtime soccer coach at West Fargo and most recently an assistant principal with Fargo Public Schools, Moe will adds activities director to his resume.
Moe accepted the AD position at West Fargo Sheyenne two weeks ago. He'll assume his new role July 1 after most recently serving as an assistant principal at Lewis and Clark Elementary in the Fargo school district.
Why the change? Moe said he was ready for a new challenge.
"I knew there was an opening and it was something that I had considered in the past," Moe said. "It's kind of one of those leadership and administrative roles. I've coached for 15 years, so that aspects of sports, student engagement and extracurricular like fine arts and music — it was appealing."
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Switching gigs and school districts also made sense for Moe.
"We recently bought a house about a year ago and it's in the Sheyenne feeder system, so it just made sense to look at this as a new challenge and a new opportunity," Moe said. "And continue to be apart of the community where my kids are involved. It was very appealing."
Moe takes over for Cory Herrmann, who stepped down in February. Herrmann was at the helm for Sheyenne's state titles in football, baseball, volleyball, boys golf, girls swimming and diving, student congress and several individual championships. He was also credited with his involvement in improvement projects to school facilities.
"I don't know Cory super well, but I've heard a lot of great things about him as far as from the coaches and stuff like that," Moe said. "Hopefully, the goal is just to continue kind of what other people have built here. Greg Limke before (Herrmann), Ross Richards to start when Sheyenne first opened up — kind of just build off of everyone's successes and then create my own successes, as well. Trying to help take Sheyenne to the next level in all areas of coaching support, student support and community support as well."
Moe said working to increase participation in extracurricular activities will be among his top priorities. It's an issue high schools across the U.S. have faced in recent years, with a National Federation of State High School Associations survey showing that participation in high school athletics dropped 4% from 2018-19 to 2021-222.
Although fine arts activities saw a drop in participation during the COVID-19 pandemic, the NFHS stated that those numbers are beginning to return to pre-pandemic levels.
"For part of the interview process, we talked about what my goals are," Moe said. "And I think goals for me are to get more students involved. More students to stick with the (activity) they choose.
"When I talk about coaching success, as a former coach, it wasn't the wins and losses. It was getting kids to come back to the program that I was a part of. So I think the goal for all of the activities at Sheyenne is to get kids to return year after year and continue to build numbers and get as many kids involved in activities as possible."
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Moe said students who participate in athletics and fine arts are likely to be set up for success.
"Community involvement, a place of belonging, that's a tell-tale sign of student success," Moe said. "When kids feel a part of something, they're more apt to do better academically and socially. That's what we want — those academic gains and social gains. We want to see success in the classroom, but outside the classroom as well."
Moe said he working with some familiar faces and attending events on a daily basis will make the job enjoyable.
"I look forward to the shows, the music recitals, the theater plays and those evenings where everyone gathers. Friday night lights with the football program or a packed volleyball game or basketball game. When the community comes together and everyone is cheering for the same thing, wanting to see the success of the kids at Sheyenne, I think that's what I'm most excited about and being a part of that."
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