‘It’s always, always, always been about the kids’

Bill Poock knew from an early age that he wanted to be a teacher.

Helping others has always been a part of his nature.

'That sense of servant leadership has always been a part of me,” Poock said. 'One of the best ways I think I can serve others is to teach children and to help children.”

Poock has been an educator for the past 28 years and spent the past eight years as principal of Mid-Prairie West Elementary School in Wellman.

'Over the past 28 years, I've been a huge advocate for kids and their learning and watching out for kids,” he said. 'No matter what role I was in, I always had a connection to kids and trying to provide them the best education that we can provide them.

'It's always, always, always been about kids and helping kids and to make an impact in their lives.”

At the end of the current school year, Poock is leaving the district to take on a new role with the Grant Wood Area Education Agency as director of teaching and learning.

'This is a job that I have been very enamored with and was very excited to see this position open,” he said. 'It is sort of the culmination of all my skills and all my experiences to be able to work at Grant Wood Area Education Agency.”

The new position will be a change in environment for the longtime educator.

He described it as moving from a school setting to a central office setting.

'I'm used to my school building and working in the Mid-Prairie district,” he said. 'This will be an overarching position that impacts all the school districts within the Grant Wood AEA system.”

His new position will involve assisting leadership and providing support for agency programs.

He will be supporting the coordination and alignment of education initiatives.

'It'll be serving as a liaison between the state Department of Education and the school districts,” Poock said. 'There are policies and initiatives given to school districts, and how do we help schools in the implementation of those programs?”

He said his progression of experience led him to this new position.

He was an elementary school classroom teacher for 13 years.

He then worked for College Community School District in Cedar Rapids as an instructional coach, interventionist and curriculum coordinator.

'I've now served eight years at Mid-Prairie as a building principal,” Poock said. 'Between all that, I obtained my Ph.D. in teaching and learning.

'This really feels like a natural next step in my career path as I look forward to things I want to be challenged by.”

Leaving Mid-Prairie West will not be easy though.

'My heart is at Mid-Prairie West Elementary, and my heart is actually with the kids,” Poock said. 'That's one thing I'm not looking forward to is having to say goodbye to kids on the last day of school.”

Being around the students is the essence of who he is.

'I love interacting with the kids,” Poock said. 'I love teaching them something.”

Even as a principal, he has had occasions to get back in the classroom to teach if there was not a substitute available.

'Those are some of my favorite times of the year,” he said. 'Earlier this year, I was teaching a class about writing. My passion area is writing and teaching writing to kids.

'It was so relaxing and fun to go into a classroom and teach a writing lesson, because it took me back to my roots when I was a classroom teacher.”

He will take with him many warm memories.

'In the past we've had field days at the end of the year that have always been fun,” he said. 'One year, I was in a dunk tank, where certain kids were selected to dunk me. I've been in a swimming pool and made into an ice cream sundae.”

Poock fondly recalls some of the reading programs, including a fourth-grade reading night and a community read where everyone in the school read the same book.

'It's those kinds of programs that are really fun, because they engage families,” he said. 'There have been so many great memories.”

Poock hopes that the memories others have of him and his time at Mid-Prairie West are as fond as his.

'I hope that when I leave that they think I had the best interests of kids in mind at all times and that my heart was here for the kids,” he said. 'I hope people remember, ‘He was here for kids.'”