Trading Places

Several weeks ago Mrs. Hilding announced her retirement. She has been the High School principal for the past ten years.  Mr. Skahill, the District's Transportation Supervisor, also announced his retirement.  Mr. Skahill has been with the district for the past three years.  I hope they can do many of the things on their bucket lists.   I genuinely wish them the best in their retirement.

Finding the right people to fill these positions is an important decision. A principal performs a significant role in the system.  A principal serves as both a leader and manager of the school and works closely with students and staff.  Instructional leadership is a big responsibility and principals who have that make a difference in student achievement.  Providing safe and efficient transportation to and from school for a large number of students each day is also something that takes a bit of work and organization.  We transport nearly 800 students a day and also take students and teams to a variety of student activities.

Our leadership team met to discuss how best to proceed. We came to a consensus that we had the right people, to do the right work here, we were willing to make some changes.  After meeting as a leadership team, talking with staff and various stakeholders, we agreed to move forward with forming a recommendation to the Board to restructure our administrative team.  The Board approved the restructuring plan for implementation at the May 14th Board meeting.

The restructuring plan that was approved included the following changes:

1. Mr. Shaffer, the current Middle School principal, has been transferred to High School principal.

Mr. Shaffer has the right background, experience, and interest to step into the role of our High School principal. I am pleased that he will be making this transition and taking the lead.  I am confident in his ability to do the job well.

2. Mr. Munsinger has been assigned to serve as principal of the K-8 School.

There will be one principal serving both the elementary and middle school rather than having a separate principal for the elementary and middle school.

Mr. Munsinger has the right tools and experience to fill this position. He has experience in a variety of administrative roles that will contribute to his success in this position. One of Mr. Munsinger's noted strengths is his ability to collaborate with others.  This will be an asset as he bridges working with both the elementary and middle school. I am confident in his ability to effectively manage this position and lead the staff in a positive direction.

3. Mrs. Spiegel has been assigned to be the Director of Early Childhood and Extended Learning.

Mrs. Spiegel will be providing a valuable service for the district in this role. The District has made a considerable investment in early childhood programs. The program has expanded the number of children served and added a three-year-old program this year. There is a need to develop the curriculum further and make wrap around services available to families in the program. The District considers early childhood to be preschool through second grade.

Extended learning includes Early Literacy, Title 1, before school, afterschool, summer programs, and other such programs. Our summer programs have grown extensively over the past several years. We now have summer learning "camps" that start in June and extend clear into August. These are great opportunities for our kids as it keeps them actively engaged in learning and the community.

Mrs. Spiegel has been instrumental in helping the district establish the early childhood programs and the extended learning programs that are in place. I know she will do well in this capacity.

 4. A Dean of Students/Transportation Supervisor position was created.

Mr. Weinrich, a current teacher on staff, accepted the role of Dean of Students and Transportation Supervisor.  Seeing these two roles as one position requires a shift in thinking but our team agreed this can work quite well. The Dean of Student will be assigned to work closely with students, families, and student discipline. Currently, the Transportation Supervisor provides and organizes the transportation necessary for students to arrive a school and activities safely and also works closely with principals to work with students who have challenging behaviors.  Mr. Weinrich's understanding of how to work with students, families, and scheduling of activities /transportation from coaching will help him be successful in managing both roles.  He is the right person to make this position work.

5. A Lead Driver position was created for the Transportation Department.

Mrs. Scherff, a current school bus driver, has accepted the role of lead driver.  She will assist with some of the daily management and scheduling of vehicles at the bus barn.  Mrs. Scherff has been a driver for three years in Shenandoah and many years in Fort Dodge.  Mrs. Scherff has the right experience to provide this level of support for the Transportation Department.

Some have inquired, and rightly so, about the Curriculum Director position that Mr. Munsinger has filled.  Mr. Munsinger and Mr. Shaffer will share this responsibility as principals. The District has made a significant commitment to the TAP model and in teacher leaders.  The principals will be able to work effectively with the instructional coaches and mentor teachers to continue to develop the curriculum and provide support for teachers in this area.

Some have also asked if the K-8 school is too large of an assignment for one person. It is a broader assignment. However, with this plan, there will be three administrators serving the building instead of two. We believe adding the additional position and reassigning the roles of the administrators will contribute to making this change work.

Some changes are being made, and people are trading places. I am pleased with how the restructuring plan is coming together and the people who are filling these roles.  As our team discussed, the rationale for doing this is we have the right people on staff to effectively lead in these new assignments and positions.  The plan will also result in a general cost savings of approximately $50,000.00 which is a substantial sum of money to consider as it can help us avoid the need to make reductions in the future.

The plan is different than how things have been done in the past. I do believe there is a strong potential for this change to be successful as the people who have accepted these roles are experienced and committed to making things work. I am looking forward to seeing this plan in action and then seeing the results across the system.