Superintendent's Message for November 2019

Do you like change? Have you ever sat down and looked at how many things have changed in your life in the last week, month, or year?  I recently sat down and looked at past communications, my daily planners, and emails.  A lot of change has happened at Southwest Valley in the eighteen months that I have been here.  I am pleased with our progress and the way our communities continue to grow together through our whole grade sharing. 

Last year at this time, the Villisca board and community were challenged with the decision to invest millions of dollars to update our buildings back to the level we expect them to operate at.  This was not an easy choice and may have been a little shocking to some, but last April you recorded the state’s highest bond referendum approval at 93.4%!  Change.

 In Corning, we had an unused middle school facility that was becoming an eye sore with broken windows and dust gathering in the interior.  The board put together a plan and this past summer we tore down the structure.  A brand new greenhouse has been constructed that will further the learning opportunities for all of our students.  Change.

Last spring, I presented a plan to rearrange our administrative staff so we could increase productivity in all four of our buildings.  The boards listened to my plans and asked questions.  In the end, we made the necessary changes and the four buildings all have solid leaders.  We are moving in the right direction. Change.

Consolidation was a word mentioned when I interviewed in the spring of 2018.  I wanted to see how the two communities were handling whole grade sharing and consider the advantages of possibly consolidating.  I researched the consolidation vs. reorganization and how it would be advantageous for our district.  The supplementary funding and how well our two towns had united, convinced me to pursue reorganization.  We went to work and both boards passed board resolutions to study the reorganization process.  The two business managers and I redesigned our salary schedule, our lead teams developed our professional development plan, and our administration aligned our evaluations.  We have held a joint board meeting to educate our boards on the process for reorganization.  We recently had a facilities meeting with community members from both towns to prioritize a ten-year facilities plan.  We are sharing more teachers and ideas to make our student learning better every day.  Change.

So why all the change? Why do I constantly look at things we need to improve on and change?  Because you want the best for our children.  We want our children to have the most enriched opportunities to learn and provide them with experiences they have never had in their lives.  We are moving toward a “destination district,” but it will take everyone involved to get there.  In a time when school districts around us are closing, we want to continue to get stronger, open our borders to these children, and show them why it is a GREAT TIME to be TWOLF!

Chris Fenster, Superintendent