The Concord Chronicle spotlight shines bright this week on Mr. Aaron Strouss. He has been a part of our community for countless years, which is why we are honored to feature him this week. 

The small town of Concord has been a major part of Strouss’s life. “Concord is our home,” he explains. He was a Concord graduate in 1995. His two kids, Aaron Strouss the third and Sarah Strouss both graduated from Concord. He and his wife, Jennifer Strouss moved to Concord in 2003. In school, Strouss was the quiet, shy kid. Now, he is outgoing and helps with everything. This shows that high school isn’t everything and that there’s always room for growth. 

Strouss has been a part of our school board for a while now. In fact, he is currently our school board president and has been for five years now. He enjoys being a part of this, and we appreciate his contribution to the school. He explains that he feels called to Concord because “[He] loves the small school big opportunities theme.” Strouss also loves that “everybody has the opportunity to have a voice.” 

As a district, Concord has many strengths. Strouss explains,  “I would rather bring to focus all of the amazing people who work so hard and with so much passion to make Concord Community Schools the amazing place that it is. As a board member, we get to see first hand all of the passion from all of our district. There are too many positions to list. In a way it is a weakness that the community doesn’t always get a full understanding of all the effort given by each person. A few weeks ago I was able to visit several classes from K-12, I saw first hand the awesome effort of all our staff, but I also saw the excitement of the students as many of them shared with us what they were working on and gave great explanations of what they have learned. I wish every community member, whether they have kids in school or not, could understand the passion of all who work to make Concord Community School, a Small School with Big Opportunities.” 

Strouss also has many goals for Concord. He explains that we hope to continue to grow and have even bigger opportunities. He shares that “because we are small, it seems like less. But, we have really worked hard to make it modern.” He also explains that “we want Concord to be a destination, not a stepping stone.”

Besides the school board, he works for Strouss construction, a family-owned business. He is also a pastor at Cornerstone Apostolic Church in Jackson. 

Out of his work life, he has many interests. In his free time, he likes to hunt, fish and spend time with family. He really enjoys the movie “Top Gun: Maverick.” He loves to listen to gospel music, and his favorite song is titled “I Thank God.” His favorite celebrity is Steve Harvey. 

If Strouss could eliminate one thing from society, it would be fear. “It is fear that often keeps us in the back of the classroom, or from trying a new sport or event.  It keeps us from picking up an instrument and joining a band, or saying hello to the person we like for fear of failure or rejection. So I would get rid of fear.”

Mr. Chriss Adams is a part of our school board alongside Strouss. He says, “I don’t think I can summarize what Aaron means to our schools, our board and to me personally in a few sentences, but I will try. Aaron is one of the most genuine people I have ever met. ..What really stands out to me is how great of a listener he is. He is eager to hear other perspectives and never dismisses them. He carries himself with integrity and patience. Aaron and I have been friends since our boys were at Concord Elementary School,  and over that time I consider him more as a brother. He genuinely cares for our school district, the staff that work here and the students getting their education here. I find him to be thoughtful in his approach when making decisions that need to be made. He is not afraid to have tough conversations when needed. I am proud to serve on the board with him as we make Concord the best it can be for our community.  He is a great example for our students and I really admire the person he is and have a huge amount of respect for him. I always tease him that he should run for governor because of how well he leads our board, and I really mean that. (He paid me to say that). Concord is lucky to have Aaron, and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for our district. ” Adams and Strouss have mutual respect for each other and create a dynamic duo.

We are so lucky to have Mr. Strouss in our community. He would like to leave anyone trying to succeed with this piece of advice: “Work to become part of the solution, don’t create more of a problem.” Thank you Mr. Strouss for all that you do for our community!