Keith Holderman Becomes Longest-Serving Middle School Administrator At Retirement

PLAINFIELD, IL — A Timber Ridge Middle School assistant principal broke a Plainfield School District 202 record when he retired in May.

Keith Holderman, who became the school's assistant principal in 1999, now holds the title of longest-serving middle school administrator.

Holderman joined the Timber Ridge staff in 1997 as a dean. He almost didn't take the job more than two decades ago because he had a two-hour commute, a young family and his own course load as a student, district officials said. But he took it anyway and was promoted to assistant principal two years later.

"I've had other chances for other positions but [Timber Ridge] was my second home," Holderman said, per a news release. "Even though this is a building, it's the people here — it's the students, it's the staff, the parents, it's the support of the district office, the Board of Education that makes this a place where I didn't want to leave."

The administrator said the most difficult part of his 26-year career was working through the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said.

"We're starting to recover now but the consistency the kids had, they’ve missed benchmarks, especially socially," he said.

His legacy will continue at Timber Ridge thanks to the Keith Holderman All Heart Award, created by Assistant Principal Lindsay Bandy and Dean of Students Denise Bauer because "Holderman did everything with his whole heart," district staff said. The award goes out to students who exhibit kindness, inclusivity and acceptance toward others.

"I put my heart and soul into Timber Ridge and loved every minute of it," Holderman said.