As our ACGC Falcons prepare for the upcoming 2026-27 school year, there is a new face in the district office who is ready to get things rolling. Superintendent Jen Mahan-Deitte joined the district on July 1, 2026, after a search process that involved a group of 19 individuals representing groups across the district and communities providing feedback on the finalist interviews.
With more than 30 years of experience in education, there is very little that Mahan-Deitte hasn’t done in schools, with most of her time being spent in smaller districts across the state. She started as a teacher in Glenwood and throughout her career has worked as a School Improvement Specialist, Curriculum Director, and Principal, most recently working as an Elementary School Principal in Hutchinson. After being encouraged by some friends to consider becoming a superintendent, she earned her license in 2023 and waited for the right opportunity.
“Having worked in small area school districts, especially those where towns come together to form a new district, ACGC felt like the ideal place,” said Mahan-Deitte. “It really feels like my journey in education led me to this and that it was the perfect moment and the perfect opportunity to put my experience to good use.”
She knew she wanted to work with children at a young age, at one point thinking she wanted to be a pediatrician. When she interviewed a doctor as part of an 8th grade career assignment, she decided that education may be a better fit. She was originally inspired to work with deaf and hard of hearing students after seeing the movie Children of a Lesser God before ultimately pivoting to elementary education.
“I have always wanted to work with children,” said Mahan-Deitte. “It feels very innate in me to be able to care for and support young people in their journey. My career has had lots of ways to make an impact on students, and this next chapter will be the largest reach I have had.”
Because she is married to another superintendent, and has been for 32 years, she shares that education and the challenges that public schools have to navigate are often part of her dining room conversations. She and her husband also have three daughters, with two working in healthcare and one having started a career as a special education teacher. She is also a new grandma with her oldest daughter recently having a baby.
Since she started at ACGC, she says she has been a sponge, soaking up all the knowledge she can to see what is going well and what may need some additional support.
“There is so much community pride here, and I love seeing so many staff members who have graduated from here and come back to teach the next generation,” she said. “I want to see us launching students into every possible best option that they can have in front of them. I want students to be set up for success and be able to find a positive pathway to taking pride in every component and facet of the district that is supporting student achievement!”