Whether Albert Lea high school students realize it or not, David Prescott has impacted their lives. He put many years into getting good schooling so he could become a teacher with the ability to impact lives and eventually became a school superintendent who could organize an entire school district.

As of June 30, 2009 Albert Lea Area Schools superintendent will be retiring. BKB, an educational consulting firm, has been hired to lead the search for Prescott’s replacement.

Prescott is originally from the small Minnesota town of Adams. There he grew up and spent his high school years involved in football and basketball, and it was during school he found his passion for agriculture. He thrived in FFA, becoming an officer and dedicating much of his attention to learning about different aspects of agriculture. His passion for FFA was the bridge from his high school life to what seemed to be his career, agriculture engineering.

With his future seemingly laid out in front of him, he now only faced the barrier of getting the classes he needed. These, much to his chagrin, included many math classes, which were not a strength or a joy for him. With an unpleasant future filled with equations and heavy textbooks, Prescott decided to change his major to fit with another one of his passions: children.

“You can’t always tell what your path will be ‘til you are on the path,” Prescott said. “Keep your options open.”

For Prescott, after getting onto the teaching path, he knew it was right for him. Prescott hit a major bump early in his road of life. He was drafted into the Army, where he served in the Vietnam War. This was a small detour in his road of life, but once his service time was done, he immediately went back to teaching.

As superintendent, his role is to organize all of the Albert Lea Area Schools, their faculty and balance the ultimate budget. Prescott took it all on because of his love and passion for helping students succeed.

“He really cares about the student body and wants to know how they feel about different issues,” said senior Lilia Walther, who worked with Prescott through student advisory group last year.

This massive job was not what Prescott had originally planned for his life. Prescott wanted to be an elementary teacher and had no idea he would take on the responsibility of being a superintendent so soon. He loves working with the students directly and every step up the chain of command meant less time with them. As his career progressed he realized organizing the school district plays a huge part in making a student’s education possible.

“To hear a teacher has been successful with kids means the kids have been successful,” Prescott said. “Seeing kids do well is what everyone wants.”

Prescott has shown his love for students and teaching through the dedication of his life to helping children learn and by overseeing their education process. In Albert Lea alone he has spent more than 20 years working for

the school district.

The usual number of years superintendents stay in one position is three years, Prescott has been in his current position 13 years. Now he is looking forward to having time to spend with his wife and children.

“My plan is not to have a plan,” Prescott said.