Rick Sola, principal of Olathe Public Schools’ Chisholm Trail Middle School, says visibility is key to being a good principal.
So every morning, before he reads the morning announcements over the school’s loudspeaker, Sola is out in the hallway, greeting students before their first class.
“To be able to listen and relate to people and interact with people positively is critical,” he said.
That approach has now earned Sola statewide recognition. The Kansas Principals Association recently named Sola its 2026 Middle School Principal of the Year.
According to Olathe Assistant Superintendent for Middle School Education Rachelle Waters, it’s Sola’s “genuine care” that sets him apart.
“He inspires excellence through compassion and the belief that every student and staff member has incredible potential,” she said in a statement issued by the district.
Middle school is Sola’s “sweet spot”
Sola started working as principal at Chisholm Trail in 2020 — a path he didn’t always see for himself.
“When I got into teaching, I never envisioned that I would be a principal,” Sola said. “I love it. It’s really a great job.”
Sola originally wanted to teach older high school students. But when a ninth-grade world history position at Chisholm Trail opened up, he took it. (Olathe has since changed its structure, so now ninth graders attend the district’s high schools.)
Sola said a lot of people probably “recoil” at the thought of working at a middle school, but he calls it a “sweet spot.”
“They’re still young enough that they go home and talk about school,” he said. “But they’re also starting to form a kind of path, and they’re starting to discover where they might go.”
Sola grew up in Olathe and attended Olathe Public Schools. After several years at Chisholm Trail, he went on to teach at Olathe South, his alma mater, before returning to Chisholm Trail six years ago.
Sola has worked to create a positive culture for the nearly 600 students at Chisholm Trail. He helped launch CST Rocs — the school’s framework for student expectations that stands for, “Respect, Ownership, Compassion, Safety.”
“I always tell students, this is not just a Chisholm Trail thing,” he said. “Being respectful and showing ownership and compassion and being safe is something that will take you places.”
Sola said finding out he received the principal of the year recognition was “surreal.”
“I work with and around so many amazing people and administrators that to get this recognition, it’s an honor,” Sola said. “It’s humbling, to say the least.”
Sola said his favorite part of the job is working with and being around “awesome people.”
“If I were to create a school to be exactly what I want it to be, it’d be just like this,” Sola said. “I’m very fortunate to be here.”
Sola will now represent Kansas for the National Middle School Principal of the Year.
