TOLEDO, Ohio — Halloween at DeVeaux Elementary School is full of candy and costumes.
But Halloween for principal Shaun Mitchell is extra sweet this year.
"I'm coming up on 20 years in the Ohio Air National Guard," said Mitchell. "Currently, I'm in the 5/54th SFAB."
And every superhero deserves a homecoming.
When Principal Mitchell's not teaching kids, he's teaching in the Army.
"We go and work with other militaries," he said. "We train them on different things that we do, that help us, benefit us."
He just got back from a year-long deployment where he spent time in Indianapolis, the Philippines, Mongolia and a few other places, but he knows how hard it can be on his family and staff at the school while he's gone.
"It's something I choose to do. I'm not forced and I enjoy my time in the military," said Mitchell. "So when it came, we just figured out what we needed to do to move forward to solve the issues that would come up and make everything a smooth transition."
After two decades, he said doing both jobs is a balancing act.
"The team here is phenomenal, the teachers are amazing, we have a strong core. The assistant principal who stepped in for me was the backbone that helped keep this going," he said.
Although he loves serving our country, he said nothing compares to seeing the kids.
"They're what really makes this job amazing," Mitchell said. "From the moment that I walked in, the kids were standing outside and I started hearing them whisper, 'He's back, Mr. Mitchell's back.'"
Making his return, and the day of treats, even more special.
Principal Mitchell said several teachers stayed in touch while he was deployed. He said he got letters and other packages from classes.
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