While the announced retirement of Hollister Superintendent of Schools Dr. Brian Wilson is still three years away, the District has already tabbed the person who will take his place.

In a release from the District last week, it was announced that the School Board has selected Dr. Sean Woods, the current Assistant Superintendent of District Operations, to step into the top spot in the summer of 2025.

Wilson earlier this year announced his plans to retire at the end of his current contract with the Hollister School District in June of 2025. Wilson has been the Superintendent since 2014 and has spent 22 of his 27 years in education in administration. Wilson was the Superintendent at Ava before taking over in Hollister. 

Woods has spent all 17 years in education in the Hollister School District as a teacher and principal before becoming Assistant Superintendent the same year Wilson took the Superintendents role in 2014. 

The complete release from the Hollister School District is below:

Hollister R-V School District Superintendent, Dr. Brian Wilson, has announced his plans to finish his current contract and retire at the end of the 2024-2025 school year. Understanding the importance of proactively identifying and developing a new leader to succeed Dr. Wilson, the Hollister Board of Education voted unanimously to name the current Assistant Superintendent of District Operations, Dr. Sean Woods, as the next superintendent upon the retirement of Dr. Wilson. 

“The Hollister R-V School District has been blessed to be led by Dr. Wilson over the past 9 years,” says Hollister Board of Education President, Mr. Andy Penrod. “His ability to identify areas of growth opportunities and his vision casting for long-range planning has allowed the district to become financially stable and to no longer be a stepping stone in an educator’s career, but to be a place where educators want to stay throughout their career.”

Dr. Wilson has served as the Superintendent of the Hollister R-V School District for the past 9 years. With 27 years of experience in education (22 in administration), Wilson believes that we each have an opportunity to improve the world and the people around us. And the people are the reason that he and his family chose several years ago to make Hollister their home. “The heart of Hollister lies within our people and I work with some of the greatest and most talented people around. We have high expectations and understand that children are at the pinnacle of all of our decisions,” Wilson says.

Great leaders put a tremendous amount of emphasis on the success of their successors and for this reason, Dr. Wilson did not want to wait to announce his plans for retirement at the end of the 2024-2025 school year. He is excited that the board of education chose to name Dr. Sean Woods as the next Superintendent of Hollister Schools. “I have had the honor and the privilege of working with Dr. Woods and watching him grow as a leader,” Wilson shares. “I am confident that Dr. Woods is without a doubt the best person to lead this district into the future and am looking forward to continuing to work alongside one another.”

Dr. Sean Woods began his career in education in Hollister 17 years ago as a teacher, a coach, and an activity sponsor. Dr. Woods was quickly identified to be a leader and became an assistant principal at the high school and then the principal before moving into the central office as assistant superintendent. It is rare for an educator to spend their entire career in one district, but Dr. Woods and his wife Callie found Hollister to be an extraordinary place to work, live and raise their family. “Hollister is the hidden gem of the Ozarks,” Woods says. “It is truly an extraordinary place. I believe that where you find extraordinary places you find extraordinary people. The extraordinary people are what make Hollister an extraordinary place.”

Humbled is how Dr. Woods feels about the board’s decision to allow him to succeed Dr. Wilson. “Getting to play a part in helping influence our students from young children as they learn and grow into productive members of our community and world is a great calling and I am humbled that the board of education is entrusting me to lead this district upon Dr. Wilson’s retirement,” Dr. Woods shares.