Sean C. Morgan
Sweet Home Junior High School teacher Louis Dix was hired Monday night as the new vice principal and athletic director.
He succeeds Toby Melver, who is going to Battle Mountain, Nev., as principal of the high school. He graduated from the high school, which is located near Winnemucca. He worked one year in Sweet Home.
Melver is “well-organized” and “good with kids,” Dix said. He also improved the athletic program. “He’ll be missed at the junior high.”
Dix took up his new duties on Wednesday.
“I’m excited about the position,” Dix said. “It’ll be some new challenges for me here in Sweet Home.”
Dix returned to work in Sweet Home as a language arts and social studies teacher after working two years in LaGrande as a principal at an elementary school.
Dix first started working for School District 55 in 1992 when he went to work teaching fifth and sixth grade at Hawthorne.
After two years, Dix and his wife, Tymberlee, were ready to move back to Sweet Home. The position at Sweet Home Junior High had come open, and Dix applied for it.
Dix grew up in Sherwood. He attended Portland State University and earned his master’s in curriculum and administration at Southern Oregon University.
Dix coached the fledgling high school soccer program before moving to LaGrande. Upon returning last year, he resumed his duties as head coach.
Sweet Home High School Athletic Director is still deciding what to do about the position, Dix said.
Normally, District 55 administrators do not coach high school sports because of time commitments.
“There is a chance I’ll still be helping just because of my experience and the late job opening,” Dix said. Even if not coaching, he hopes to continue helping with the program.
After a decade in education, Dix said. “I love my job, being able to work with kids in the classroom or as an administrator is rewarding.”
He has been an athlete all his life and enjoys being involved in athletic programs. In addition to soccer, Dix also helped coach the high school wrestling team before moving, and he is excited to continue working in athletics as the school’s athletic director.
Athletics are what carried Dix into education in the first place. Dix attended PSU on a wrestling scholarship. He started working in camps and working with kids. He enjoyed teaching youths so much that he switched his major from business to education.
He took his first job in Sweet Home after considering three job offers.
“I enjoy the outdoors,” Dix said. “Being close to the lakes and the mountains was very enticing. I consider this my home, and I love it here.”
After two years of the cold winters in LaGrande, both he and Mrs. Dix were excited to return to Sweet Home, where Mrs. Dix grew up, with their three children, Jacque, 11; Caleb, 6; and Cassidy, 4.
Among his duties at the junior high will be discipline and attendance, and improving attendance will be among his goals. He also would like to increase the number of students getting involved in athletics, which are important to their development.
Dix will miss “having the day-to-day contact with kids in the classroom,” he said. “It’s extremely rewarding working with kids in the classroom and one-on-one.”
He will still have the opportunity to work with some students, and he plans to be visible throughout the building and the junior high area.