Mexico Public Schools Superintendent Troy Lentz didn’t hesitate when asked about working in education in contemporary times.

“I don’t think it’s ever been tougher,” he said. “I think we just see cultural norms are changing so quickly.”

He said the level of respect that some people afford one another is much different now than it used to be. Young people are a product of their environment and society, he said.

“And society seems like it is becoming less and less sensitive and less and less empathetic,” he said, adding that society is seeing more of a trend that the “world revolves around you,” with social media playing a role here.

Educators must contend with changing times, and one change coming into this year in Missouri will be a ban on student phone usage during the school day. But there exist challenges in schools, such as the emergence of artificial intelligence’s role in education and the ongoing puzzle of attracting and keeping teachers.

Facing these challenges will be Lentz, who served his first year as superintendent in 2024-25 and is gearing up for his second year as chief of a district with just under 2,400 students. Weeks before the school year began, in July, he sat down with the Ledger to discuss the upcoming year and other issues.

Before coming to Mexico, he was superintendent at Osceola for two years and then Norborne for six years as superintendent prior to that. He began his career in education in 1999-2000. He was in the classroom for 14 years before heading into administration.

“I just generally feel grateful to be here,” Lentz said. “This has been a really good opportunity for me. It’s been a really good place for my son. I’m thankful for the town. The town has been very welcoming and supportive of our family. And I’m glad to be closer to my mom.”

His parents live in Taos and his in-laws live in Holts Summit.

Lentz said he thought he had a great first year in the Mexico district, and said he really enjoyed his time in the first year.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he said about his second year. “The first year is so much about trying to get to know people and build relationships, and now that I’ve kind of established that, I feel like I’ve got greater capacity to make an impact and do good things for kids.”  

Taking the job came with some good timing.

“I had the really good fortune to come in at a time right after a bond passed, right after a really good initiative had started,” he said. “Those are things that were in place thanks to the good work of the previous administration.”

He said the Mexico superintendent opening interested him because of geography, as he wanted to be closer to home and he was familiar with the area having grown up in Columbia.

“I thought like it would be a good community for my son,” he said. 

He said liked some of the positive signs he saw, such as Commitment to Community (C2C) and a bond issue that passed without a struggle and that the community supports the students.

“It’s exciting to work in that kind of environment,” he said.

Mexico Public Schools Board President Jessica Ekern said she has been pleased with Lentz’s performance.

“In Dr. Lentz’s first year of leadership, he has elevated our climate and culture, embraced our community, and is fully committed to our district,” Ekern said in an email, speaking on behalf of the board, as she gained others' insights.

She said Lentz immediately immersed himself into the district even before his contract began and continues to be actively engaged. 

“He brought knowledge and experience with district financing, bond issues, construction, curriculum, discipline and state education policies,” she said. 

She also said Lentz can be seen at countless community events, sporting and school activities, and “even driving a school bus.” 

“He can be spotted playing the guitar in the classrooms and on social media. Working with his administrative team to bring new curriculum into our district is helping our students grow in positive ways,” she said.

Ekern added: “He leads with transparency, answers questions directly, and if he doesn’t know the answer, he finds out. Dr. Lentz has surrounded himself with a great administrative team and is a pleasure to work with.”

Lentz answered some other questions about the district, among them:

What are some of the things you think the district is doing well?

“I think partnerships with the community stakeholders is a strength here. And I also think our teachers deserve a ton of credit for the way they work with our kids.”

What are some of the areas that the district can improve in?

“I think that our district, like every district, has to get better at recruiting and retaining teachers. We have to make sure that we keep our best teachers here. I think that we have effective strategies and I think that we have a good, strong culture, but that needs to be top of mind for all of us, that we want Mexico Public Schools to be a great place to be a teacher.”

Do you think it is right now?

“I do. I think it’s never been tougher to be a teacher. I think education is challenging - I think it’s challenging everywhere. But I think we are doing things to support our staff.”