Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman!
Actually, it was the Bexley High School staff on Superhero Day of this year’s fall homecoming. And they weren’t dressed as Superman; they were dressed as Paul Ross. To them, Ross is Superman.
As one of the most recent additions to the staff, Ross joined the school district this August as the new technology director. However, Ross isn’t just another staff member. Ross is Australian. He was born in a town called Maryborough where he spent most of his childhood.
In high school, Ross was part of the track and field team and said that he didn’t have much exposure to technology. In fact, he said he first touched a computer in 1984.
“It was an Apple,” Ross said. “That’s when I started getting into it.”
Ross said after his high school graduation, he went to a technical college and graduated with an associate diploma of business management.
Ross says you have to be self-taught in technology because it always changes.
“It’s interesting to find different ways to make things work,” Ross said.
In 1999, Ross applied to the Ambassadorial Scholarship Program, made available through a Rotary district in Australia.
“I was one of 13 people selected in Australia [for the program],” Ross said.
The scholarship brought Ross to Denver, Colorado, where he lived for two years and met his current wife. After the scholarship ended, Ross said he returned to Australia only to go back to Denver in 2002.
Ross said he lived in Denver until August of this year when he moved to Bexley to accept his new job.
“The position with the school district is what attracted me to Bexley,” Ross said. “The position holds many challenges; the school environments were ready for change and would permit my sense of creativity and innovation to be fully utilized.”
Despite not knowing much about Bexley before arriving, some say he’s adapting well.
“Mr. Ross has a high energy level and is committed to getting out of the office to meet people in all of the buildings,” network assistant Pam Moenter said. “I think the response to his efforts has been positive.”
Ross has also made friends outside the staff. For example, Ross was considered a coach by the field hockey team.
“I think Paul Ross gave our team a whole new vibe,” sophomore field hockey player Rachel Hughes said. “He provided new drills as well as new coaching and playing techniques. He always had a great attitude and positive things to say.”
Freshman field hockey player Zoe Beaumier agreed with Hughes about Ross’ contributions to the team.
“I really enjoyed working with Mr. Ross during the season,” Beaumier said. “He knows so much about field hockey and is always willing to help. He always helped make practice fun, whether helping design a fun drill or playing the game with us.”
Ross said he has played field hockey most of his life and, though he’s played most positions, his specialty is right wing.
“Field hockey is a club sport back home,” Ross explained. “They have teams from age five up to senior club teams.”
Beyond his involvement at the high school, Ross lives with his wife, their 10- month-old daughter, Jennifer, and cat, Ziggy.
Ross also hopes his “50 percent Aussie, 50 percent American” daughter will try field hockey. “She’ll have the opportunity if she wants,” Ross said.
Meanwhile, back at the high school, Ross said he was flattered by the staff’s costumes on Superhero day.
“I thought something was going on,” Ross said about the costumes. “But I didn’t know that many teachers were doing it.”
Both Hughes and Beaumier appreciated the use of sticks as a part of the costumes.
“He walked the halls with a smile that whole day,” Hughes said. “Even though Mr. Ross always has a smile when he walks down the halls.”
Published December 2007. Digitized 2025.
