Cardinal teacher, superintendent honored during Gov. Reynolds’s press conference

Imagine Bethany Short's surprise when a representative from Gov. Kim Reynolds' office reached out recently, asking Short if she'd like to speak during a statewide news conference.

'I'll admit, I was a little taken aback,” said Short, a 2014 graduate of Buena Vista University, and, until that time, not someone who had ever attended, much less been featured in, a governor's press conference.

Short was chosen as that day's topic involved education; specifically, the return to school across Iowa. Her school superintendent joined her as well. Joel Pedersen, superintendent of schools at Cardinal Community School District, is the 2020 Iowa School Superintendent of the Year.

Pedersen, like Short, is a Buena Vista graduate. Both attended the Buena Vista Ottumwa site because it was located within their hometown.

'I had a great experience in earning my bachelor's degree through BVU,” said Short, who directs the social emotional academic learning program at Cardinal Middle School in Eldon.

'I was an adult learner and had a child during my time at BVU, in a semester in which both of my classes were online,” Short said. 'It was a perfect setting for me.”

Pedersen graduated from Buena Vista in 1999. He has been at Cardinal since 2009 and has worked with district leaders and residents on infrastructure, staff and programming improvements that contributed to an enrollment boom of 338 students during the past decade.

Pedersen, like Short, told viewers and listeners they believe it's time to begin the school year with children attending school in-person, which students haven't been able to do across Iowa since the COVID-19 pandemic struck in March.

'We have 59 percent of our students that qualify for free-and-reduced school lunches,” Pedersen said. 'That creates challenges, and if we can't get them back to school, it's certainly going to be tough.”

He said he is working with the Cardinal school board to bring back all students while providing a virtual option to parents who have concerns.

Short understands the issue of returning to school while COVID-19 infection rates, a daily reality, remain a divisive topic. She has family members on both sides of the debate.

'If I teach virtually, that's what I'll do,” she said. 'If I'm asked to teach in person, I'll do that.”

The second option is the manner in which Short wishes to begin the academic year.

'I have six children at home, ages 5-11, and they represent a mixture of very advanced children and those who cope with disabilities,” she said. 'To see them function without school has been difficult. I believe they need to be with their peers, their teachers, their support staff.

She added that her home has internet and quality food choices.

'Not all children have all of those essentials at home,” Short said. 'I'm trying to think of what school might mean to those children.”