Mid-Prairie schools get new principals

Every school in the Mid-Prairie District will have a new principal next school year.

Current East Elementary Principal Robin Foster will transfer to West Elementary. All other schools will have principals spending their first years in the district.

Superintendent Mark Schneider said the high-level change of staff was not entirely unusual.

“This is actually the second time this has happened,” he said. “About eight years ago we had three principals that were all the same age, and they all retired the same year … If you look at those situations, they all left for a different reason.”

While change can be difficult, Schneider said he was happy to see the administrators reach their goals.

“I always encourage all of our employees to keep their options open,” he said. “I would rather have an employee at Mid-Prairie that wants to be there, I never want an employee to feel trapped. My philosophy is if you find a position that fits you and your family better, then I’m happy for you.”

Schneider said the district was careful to pick new principals that would strengthen the community.

“Obviously, for all three of the positions that we were looking for this year, relationships and the ability to create relationships with people was high on the list,” Schneider said. “We were deliberately looking for those things throughout the interview process.”

Banks: ‘very visible’

Incoming Mid-Prairie High School Principal Chuck Banks has a depth of experience. After a teaching career that started in 1997, he became a principal in the Van Buren Community School District in 2009 before moving to Oskaloosa as an associate principal in 2018.

Banks said he was passionate about helping others accomplish their goals.

“It’s that light bulb moment,” he said. “Whether it’s a student or a staff member, when they accomplish a goal and they’ve done something that they didn’t think was possible, that’s really what I get excited about.”

Banks said he hoped his energy would help reinvigorate his building this fall.

“We need a lot of excitement,” Banks said. “The last year and a half, educationally or in the workforce around the world, has just been a real challenge. Hopefully the summer break helped kids and everyone recharge, and we’re going to come in on Day One excited that we’ll be there, that we’re going to do things normally again.”

While picking up the pieces from a pandemic will be challenging, Banks said his high engagement across the building would help lift others up.

“I work hard to know the kids and the staff and what they need,” he said. “I try to be very approachable, I try to be very visible. Kids are going to see me in classrooms, they’re going to see me in the hallways, in the lunchroom. We’re going to have interactions throughout the day.”

Hruby: communication emphasis

Incoming Middle School Principal Rob Hruby, who said the “H” in his last name was “more or less silent,” started his educational career in 2012, and will spend his first year as a principal at Mid-Prairie.

The Hruby Family moved to Tiffin for the job, splitting the difference in commute time with his wife, who teaches at Wright Elementary in Cedar Rapids.

While he has some apprehensions about his lack of experience as a principle, Ruby said his emphasis on communications would bridge the gap.

“I’m an advocate for using a circle structure to talk about things that are going on and using that as a problem solving process,” he said. “That’s something I’m going to communicate to my staff very clearly. If there’s something going on, I want to know about it. I might not have the answer or solution right away, but I can definitely find the people that can come together to figure out how we’re going to address those things.”

Hruby said he wasn’t worried about a lack of administrative experience, citing support networks he had already seen from district staff.

“That’ll be a new experience for me, to try and figure out some of those ropes,” he said. “But I also feel like there’s a huge support network of people who are there to help me … Every single person that we talked to said, ‘If you have a question just ask. That’s what I’m here for.’”

Hruby said mental health was one of his top priorities.

“At the beginning of the school year especially, we have to take a look at where kids are at from a social-emotional standpoint,” he said. “I know there’s been a lot of talk about learning loss that has occurred since March of 2020 up until now with the amount of school that we may or may not have missed. But it’s important that we reestablish for kids and adults, how we do school in a more natural environment.”

Jergens: positive leader

Incoming East Elementary Principal Greg Jergens has a simple but impressive resume: a 21-year stint as a teacher at Iowa Valley Schools, alongside his position as a diverse extracurricular coach.

Jergens said he could rely on his skills as a manager and a leader.

“I’m a very positive leader, I’ve always had good luck with helping people see what they have to offer and putting people in the position to do their best work,” he said. “Through my coaching and my classroom experiences, it’s something I’ve had to do for my whole educational career.”

A first year principal himself, Jergens said he was happy with the support he expects as he acclimates to the environment.

“Mrs. Foster is still in the district, she just moved to West. We’ll be partners, so I have a get out of jail free card that most people probably don’t,” he said. “That first year will probably be by far the most challenging just because I’ll be getting to know everything that goes with it, and then down the road seeing if there’s things we can change or improve.”

Jergens said he was drawn to Mid-Prairie by the district’s reputation.

“There are some schools in some communities that have good reputations, and some that have bad,” he said. “Being a varsity coach for 21 years in a variety of sports, I’ve competed with every high school you can imagine in eastern Iowa. Every time I ever had anything to do with Mid-Prairie … they always had a really good reputation, and if you can be part of something like that, to me that’s pretty amazing.”