Longtime Bellefontaine City Schools truancy officer Shannon Maier completed her last day in the district Friday and now is stepping into a new role in full-time ministry to offer a program that continues her passion for building up area youths and their families.
Maier served in the district for 20 years, and last week, she trained with the new BCS truancy officer Sean Egler, who previously served as the in-school suspension supervisor at BHS. He also coaches football, basketball and track in the district.
The pair participated in a baton hand-off Friday, also symbolizing their shared connection through track and field. Egler previously ran track with Maier’s daughter in high school.
“I’m so happy to pass this role on to Sean,” Maier said. “He is well-suited for this position; he’s someone who can relate to people and is calm under pressure.”
Maier said her last day at BCS was “full of emotion,” but she related that the position was one that she loved for the many challenges she could help students overcome. She enjoyed working with pupils of all ages in grades K-12, too.
“It was a role where I could help the students succeed and get where they needed to be to graduate,” she said. “I loved being a liaison, someone who anyone could talk to. I worked with everyone, from the teachers, parents and the students, and not just in the classroom.
“I got to work with law enforcement and probation officers, too. I could be an ally for parents, for that mom who said, ‘I don’t know how to get my kid out of bed and to school.’ We work together to motivate and build up their children.”
Her experiences as a truancy officer helped to inspire Maier’s new role in leading the G.O.A.T. program, an acronym for Greatest of All Time, a curriculum she developed and recently copyrighted. G.O.A.T. offers coping skills and empathy-building to help kids through trauma and also training opportunities for adult leaders.
“The program helps a person to look at, ‘Where do I belong?’ and finding our giftedness. How to be the best version of yourself, despite anything that life has thrown your way.”
Through G.O.A.T., Maier is working with area churches, schools and other organizations to offer these practical lessons, including at a presentation at a recent Logan County Safety Council meeting. She is looking forward to dedicating her time to serving as a life coach and leadership trainer, and continuing her work through her Journey Living Ministries as well.
For more information, visit www.thegoatprogram.org or www.journeyliving.org.