Cardinal’s Heather Buckley named Iowa Elementary Principal of Year

ELDON – Cardinal Elementary Principal Heather Buckley has been named the Iowa Elementary Principal of the Year.

The School Administrators of Iowa announced that Buckley deserved the honor for her accomplishments as Cardinal Elementary’s principal and her ability to “provide others exactly what they need to get the best out of themselves.”

“Students, staff, parents and colleagues are all the beneficiaries of her caring and compassionate leadership,” said SAI Executive Director Roark Horn.

Cardinal Superintendent Joel Pedersen described Buckley as a “servant leader” who cares deeply about her students, families and staff. Pedersen said he is thankful for her expertise in leading the school’s elementary team.

“Heather's focus on relationships with our stakeholders serves as the foundation for every decision she makes as a principal,” Pedersen said. “She possesses the rare leadership ability to expect excellence while promoting a positive culture.”

Buckley was nominated by her peers to receive this award, and was selected by a committee of Iowa elementary principals. The National Association of Elementary School Principals will also honor her as a National Distinguished Principal.

Buckley has been a principal at Cardinal for the past eight years, and before that was shared curriculum director for Cardinal and Pekin Community School Districts.

Early life

Buckley was raised in Fairfield and graduated from Fairfield High School. As a young girl, she was anxious about going to school, and this gave her stomachaches every morning.

Her third-grade teacher Mrs. Fiedler knew Buckley was having a tough time, and she checked on Buckley each day. Mrs. Fiedler kept oatmeal pies in her desk drawer, and these helped ease Buckley’s tummy troubles.

“It was not necessarily the oatmeal pies that cured my morning bellyache, it was the couple minutes each morning she spent, letting me know that she cared,” Buckley said. “Her extra loving time made a great impact on my life and helped me develop confidence, eased my school jitters, and made me feel so special. From that moment on, I was inspired to follow her caring example.”

Buckley attended the University of Iowa, where she obtained a degree in elementary education, followed by her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of St. Mary’s.

Return to Fairfield

Heather’s first job after college was teaching second grade in the Liberty Public School District in Kansas City, Missouri. After several years in that post, she and her husband, Sim, and daughter Bella, moved back to Fairfield to be closer to family. Buckley found a job teaching fourth grade in the Fairfield Community School District.

Buckley furthered her education through the Educational Leadership and Policy Program at the University of Iowa, where she received her evaluator and principal license in 2013. That same year, she was offered a position as a shared curriculum director for the Cardinal and Pekin Community School Districts.

“I quickly realized how much I missed working directly with children, which led me to apply and accept the position as principal,” Buckley said.

Exceptional staff at Cardinal

At the time of her transition into an administrative role, Buckley had 10 years of teaching under her belt. It gave her a strong foundation for successful collaboration with her elementary staff. Buckley said her elementary team is “exceptional” and she enjoys working with them to support students.

“When visiting our classrooms, I get to see daily relationships being built and high levels of learning taking place,” she said. “Our staff’s work inspires me, and the student’s smiles and seeing their self-confidence develop, are the most special moments of my school days.”

Buckley said the love and care her team provides to the students has shown great results, both academically and in the students’ behavior. She said she was humbled to receive the award for Iowa Elementary Principal of the Year, an honor she feels reflects the important work each Cardinal family does to make the school a success.

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com