Dr. Stern grew up in Northeast Colorado and attended the University of Kansas where he earned his bachelor's and master's degree in education.  He joined Blue Valley in 1997 and for 18 years he served as an English language arts teacher, reading specialist, department chair, and football coach at Harmony Middle and Blue Valley West.  Dr. Stern went on to serve on the district's education services support team for two years and earn his doctorate in educational leadership from Baker University before becoming an assistant principal at Oxford Middle in 2017.

In his 27^th year in education and 6^th as principal of OTMS, Dr. Stern is immensely proud of the students, staff, and community that make up Overland Trail.  He and his wife Jill, also a Blue Valley educator, have three children.  Their oldest daughter is a graduate of Blue Valley West, and they have boy-girl twins who attend Blue Valley High.

Dr. Stern believes that ALL kids deserve to feel safe, respected, challenged and loved.  He strives to build and cultivate a school culture that inspires students to dream, create, learn and grow. This vision is possible because of the talented, caring, and committed adults working together to empower kids. 

Dr. Stern is honored to serve the OTMS community as principal and looks forward to continuing to build positive relationships with students, staff, and families and provide meaningful educational experiences that develop the whole child and build on the rich tradition at Overland Trail Middle.

Mrs. Nicole Orrick is entering her 16th year in education. She holds a Bachelor of Science in English Education from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a Master of Science degree in Educational Leadership from Baker University. 

Mrs. Orrick began her career in Blue Valley in 2008 as an English teacher at Blue Valley Northwest High School. After receiving her master’s degree, Mrs. Orrick spent a year as the Administrative Intern at Aubry Bend Middle School. The 2022-2023 school year will be Mrs. Orrick’s fourth year as Assistant Principal at OTMS. Mrs. Orrick and her husband Zack, also an educator in the district, are proud supporters of Blue Valley. They are looking forward to their daughter, Sadie, attending 3rd grade in the fall. In the spring, they also welcomed a beautiful new girl, Frankie.

Mrs. Orrick believes that building positive, genuine and sustainable relationships with students, staff, parents and community members is a top priority to ensure all feel valued, supported, respected and safe. Mrs. Orrick also believes that celebrating diversity allows for people to understand others perspectives, to broaden our own, and to fully experience and educate ourselves. Diversity is a beautiful thing and is what makes the world go round!

Mrs. Orrick is proud to serve the OTMS community and is looking forward to a remarkable school year.