Superintendent's Message for November 2023

November has arrived! We have great things to share and exciting things on the horizon. The
students and staff have been working hard and their efforts are paying off. We had a good
showing at Parent-Teacher Conferences and we appreciate everyone taking the time to come in
to meet your child’s teacher and help with their education. It really does take a village to raise a
child.
Our first exciting news comes from the east campus. At the end of the month we will begin the
construction bid process by sending out bid requests for the bond project. This project began
approximately two years ago with the needs assessment to determine and prioritize what areas
needed to be improved. We now have blueprints and a detailed budget for the project. We will
open the bids on December 12th and the Corning School Board will consider the bids at their
regularly scheduled meeting on December 18th.
The new facility, projected to be completed for the 2025-2026 school year, will house ECEC
(Early Childhood Education Center), Head Start, and grades PK-5th under one roof. The
baseball and softball field upgrades will be done after the conclusion of the 2024 baseball and
softball seasons and ready for competition in 2025! Stay tuned for more information on the
project.
The next exciting news is we have recently received our Iowa Performance Profile scores. For
the third straight year all of our buildings are meeting the requirements of the state of Iowa. Our
two elementary schools have stepped-up from Priority Assistance to High-Performing this year!
This is an amazing accomplishment for our students and staff. The middle school has remained
steady in all six years at the Acceptable designation. The high school was a Priority school
three years ago, and today they are also at the Acceptable designation. This is a great
testament to the school boards who have trusted the administration to put the right people in the
classroom and to the students who are working hard to achieve their goals. We are striving to
move all buildings to the High Performing level. The Performance Profile measures test scores,
building culture and climate, college readiness, and a few other factors.
The last exciting thing is this month is the school board election and we have candidates in both
districts running for open spots. Gwen Larsen is retiring after serving ten years on the Corning
board. She has held both the Vice President and President roles. Amy Grau, current board
President, has completed four years and is also retiring from the Corning board. These ladies
will be missed for their leadership and dedication to the Corning School district. Two people
have filed papers for these positions, and a write-in candidate has also emerged. Stephanie
Hodapp and Trent Roberts have filed papers with the auditor and will appear on the ballot.
Todd James is running as a write-in candidate. Tom Williams, Richard Mullen, and Jason
Poston are running for re-election on the Villisca side of the district. These gentlemen are all
incumbents and no other candidates have filed for the Villisca positions indicating a challenger
for the seats.
Have a great month and Happy Thanksgiving!