Welcome to the Whitehall School District! 

I am extremely honored to serve as superintendent of Whitehall Publics Schools, and I look forward to working with you to ensure that every student and every staff member succeeds.

To learn more about the district’s many strengths and it’s challenges, and to build a shared vision for the future; I hope my tenure as superintendent will serve as a beginning of our partnership and our embracing a new set of goals that will evolve and expand with your input and involvement.  It is our responsibility to make the Whitehall School District the top district in the state of Montana.

One responsibility that I take very seriously is to be sure that our school culture and climate is positive and gives children a feeling of safety and security. Research has determined that kids can't achieve their potential if there are negative distractions in the school day culture, we must focus on the positive.  We need to work hard to be sure that concerns about these matters are proactively addressed and that we collectively focus on what we “can do” and not on what we “cannot do”.  We must not be satisfied with being okay; being okay or just fine is the language of the average; our goal is to be excellent.  We will go the “extra-mile” for our students to ensure their success.  Every student, every chance, every day!

I have been impressed by all of the staff’s commitment to learning and to providing the best environment possible for our students.  Thank you in advance for your willingness to work with our staff and with moving the district forward.  You have my commitment to work extremely hard on behalf of the students and families of our community. You also have my promise to partner with the entire community to focus on our most important asset – our students in Whitehall.

For those of you who do not know me, I have been an educator, coach, athletic director, principal, and superintendent for the past 27 years.   I am excited to continue to serve as the superintendent of Whitehall Schools and plan to continue to build our school system into one of the best schools in the state of Montana.

I am married to my wife Cindy and all together we have 5 children.  Savannah is our oldest and is 30 years old, her and her husband Pete live in Sheridan Montana.  Eric is 29 and is currently living in Texas, before that he served in the United States Air Force.  Holly is 28 and lives and works in Boca Raton Florida.  Mikayla is 23 and lives and works in Bozeman.  Connor, our youngest, age 21, is attending Montana State University on a full-ride football scholarship, so I am now a Bobcat fan!  I do have my Master’s Degree from the University of Montana so you could say we are a house divided. 

Our mission continues to be T.E.A.M.  The mission is to provide a safe, cooperative, educational environment where everyone is Motivated to succeed.  Together we will make a difference using research based instructional strategies.  Excellence will be Achieved through life-long learning, individualized instruction, and family/community partnerships.  Better yet, not only should we embrace this mission developed by the school district but we should all be on a “mission” to ensure that we are giving the best of ourselves every day. 

Have a great school year and together we will make Whitehall Schools great!

John Sullivan

Whitehall Public Schools Superintendent