School Superintendent: Mitch Reed

Hello Florence community, My name is Mitch Reed and I am the Superintendent of the Florence School. I also serve as the districts elementary principal and special education director. Currently, I serve as the head girls basketball coach as well. I am starting my 13th year in education. My wife Shari, who is also an educator, and I have three children, Kendall, Emmy, and Finn. I am excited to start my seventh year with this district. I have enjoyed the community support that we have received to make this school the best we can. With that support, we believe that we can offer students a great deal of experiences through different course work offerings, extra curricular activities, and so much more.

Mitch Reed

MS/HS Principal and Athletic Director: Travis Schmidt

Greetings Florence Falcons! My name is Travis Schmidt, and I am the middle/high school principal along with the district's activities director. I am starting my 18th year in education and my 1st year serving the Florence district and community as a Principal/AD. I have enjoyed 17 wonderful years in Florence in the classroom and look forward to the transition to the administration role. My wife, Jennifer, and I have two young girls: Aubrey and Ashlyn, who both attend school in Florence. I am a Selby, SD native where I participated in football, basketball, track & field, and baseball while growing up in a small town of 700. After completing high school, I attended Northern State University, where I earned my bachelor's degree in elementary education with a minor in coaching and in the spring of 2025 will earn my master's in leadership/administration. I am excited for my first year as an administrator and look forward to creating a positive culture and environment for every student in a different capacity other than as a teacher. 

Business Manager: Sherri Sumner

Hi! My name is Sherri (Grygiel) Sumner and I am the Business Manager of the Florence School.  I just started my 34th year here at Florence School! My husband Tom and I have 2 adult children: Shelby who is a K-12 school counselor in Minnesota and her husband Zach Reker who have blessed us with 2 joyful granddaughters, and we have a son Trent who is the NTHS welding instructor in Watertown. If you had asked me a dozen years ago if my children would be educators, it would have been a definite NO, but after all these years I can say I am proud of the careers they have chosen. After all, where can one work and have the comradery of adult colleagues and enjoy the smiles of all the students too. As for Florence, my heart lies here!  I was born, raised, worked and raised our children here and am proud of the strides the Florence School has made over the years!  When I started here in 1991, our student count was approximately 160 K-12 and now it is 330 PreK-12 - over double!  As I said, a great school and community to put down roots!