Mark Schneider looks back on 41 years in education

On a Friday afternoon in early March, the Mid-Prairie school district heard shocking news: Superintendent Mark Schneider had announced his retirement, effective at the end of June.

“I always tried to base my decisions on what was best for the Mid-Prairie School District and its students,” Schneider said in an open letter on the district’s Facebook page. “With the defeat of the recent bond referendum, coupled with the Mid-Prairie graduation of my two granddaughters in May and my 65th birthday in June, it is clear to me that after 21 years, the time is right for new blood and a fresh perspective in the superintendent’s office.”

While his career in education stretches back 41 years, Schneider’s entry to the field was at first unexpected.

“When I was a sophomore in college, I was majoring in chemistry … that didn’t seem to fit me, so I had decided to quit college and become a carpenter,” he said. “But in between the time I had decided to quit and the end of the semester, one evening I had a deeply reflective moment and a voice spoke to me and asked me if I’d ever considered being a teacher.”

He followed that path, which worked out well: within a few years he was a student teacher in Kalona, and after returning to school for his Master’s and every part of a Ph.D except the dissertation, as well as a string of education-linked jobs around the state, Schneider picked up a knack for school administration, despite having “absolutely no intention” of doing so.

“I became friends with a professor of educational leadership at the University of Iowa, and he convinced me while I was doing my master’s in teaching to take a few electives in administration,” he said. “He always told me … even though I had no plans to go into administration, you choose to go through doors in life, and if you don’t build the door, there’s no opportunity to go through it.”

And go through that door he did: Schneider eventually became a principal at Mid-Prairie. While he described his initial career in school administration as “a fluke,” the choice to keep following that path was more deliberate, motivated by a passion for the work and the people it touched.

“I’ve always enjoyed it … When I became a principal I missed having that class of 20 I could call my own, and as a superintendent I missed having that school building of 250 students that I got to know,” he said. “It’s a little harder to wrap your arms around 1,700 students and that’s what I’ve always enjoyed, keeping connections with the students and the staff members and the parents and the community.”

There are admittedly some aspects of the work Schneider can look forward to leaving behind, namely the politics involved.

“We have to deal with the bills that are passed in the legislature and signed by the governor,” he said. “And sometimes the things that are done just don’t follow common sense. So I won’t miss the frustration of dealing with things that I believe aren’t good for students and aren’t good for education.”

Other, more specific superintendent responsibilities will also be a relief to leave behind.

“Waking up at 4 o'clock in the morning to check the weather, first and foremost,” Schneider said. “And I won’t miss the cheap shots on social media. Social media can do some wonderful things but it can also lead to some very negative behaviors.”

After more than two decades in school administration, Schneider has had some hard-learned lessons, like the true weight of expectations.

“The one thing that’s hard for a lot of people, is to understand that people you interact with, you don’t know what they’re going through,” he said. “We always assume that if we don’t get what you want that the person’s not trying hard enough. And we forget that most people are trying their hardest, it’s other things that are getting in the way … we’re always looking for people to blame rather than true ways to change the system.”

Another lesson, on a larger scale but equally difficult to learn, was that progress takes time.

“Sometimes you have to go slow to go fast,” he said. “I am a very impatient person normally … but in a district like Mid-Prairie where there is a lot of thought diversity, you have to bring people along. You have to make sure that everyone feels their voice is heard.

“My father always told me that it’s more important to listen to people that disagree with you than people you agree with, because people that disagree with you will help you see a perspective that you hadn’t considered. People that agree with you, all they’ll do is feed your ego, and (I) don’t need a bigger ego.”

That mindset made the pandemic especially challenging. As high-stakes decisions were made over fast-changing circumstances, going slow was seldom an option.

“In a normal situation, you’re talking about facilities, attendance centers, you bring a bunch of people together and you talk, you look at the issue,” Schneider said. “But now you’re dealing with a pandemic that you have to respond to right now, and Mid-Prairie’s diversity works against you because there’s absolutely no time to build consensus.”

While the last few years have asked a lot of school administrators, Schneider stressed that those difficulties — from the pandemic to a failed bond election to political matters — were not what drove him from the office.

“You’re always going to have issues that come up that are difficult to deal with, and I’ve never been one to shy away from a challenge,” he said. “In some respects, the times that I’m challenged are the times that I don’t want to walk away … I’m a very competitive person, so sometimes that competitiveness of mine wants me to stick in there.”

Schneider said his coming retirement was mostly planned in advance, although recent events had indirect effects on the timing.

“People before the bond issue would specifically ask, and I told them, ‘Well, if the bond issue passed … I’d stick around for another year just to make sure that everything got started,’” he said. “But because it didn’t pass, it just seemed like the time was right for a fresh perspective in the superintendent’s office. The bond issue wasn’t the main cause, it just made me realize that this is the best time for a transition.”

Schneider said the community reaction had, to his knowledge, been positive.

“People are wishing me the best, they’re thanking me for all of my efforts,” he said. “I remind them, anything that was accomplished in my 21 years was not accomplished by me alone. It was accomplished in collaboration with a lot of very talented people.”

Schneider said his coming retirement would not mean any less attention to his work until he leaves the office for good.

“We’re going to still do whatever we need to do between now and June 30, we’ve got to finish up this school year and we’re going to finish it strong,” he said. “I’m still going to show up for work every day, I’m still going to enjoy the heck out of it, enjoy the heck out of these last few months.”

Once that time comes, the outgoing superintendent has every intention of staying active in the community.

“As far as next year, I have no definite plans,” he said. “I don’t think I’ll be gainfully employed, but I’m not the type of person that is going to sit in a rocking chair for retirement. I’m not the person that can sit all day long and read a book or any of that, I’ll be out in the community doing things.”

As he closes out the school year, the outgoing Superintendent said he had no regrets, another outcome of his aspirational mindset.

“Hindsight’s always 20/20, but our experiences, even the negative ones, help us to develop and grow,” he said. “Even the challenges and the difficult times, they’ve made me a better person. They’ve made me a better husband, a better father, they’ve made me a better employee of the district. I don’t tend to look backwards, I always try to look forward.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com