Last week, Hampton-Dumont superintendent Tim Felderman spoke with the school board during their regular meeting about the value of shared learning between him and the board. Felderman tells RadioOnTheGo News he is a believer in clarity, whether that’s clarity in the classroom or future goals for the district.
“What can we do with learning from the Iowa Association of School Boards to make sure that we’re having that clear pathway of how we tie my evaluation and the work the school board wants to do, then I can help drive the work of the district through the principals down to the teacher and the student level. And I think that that just kind of models an entire growth culture that all school districts should be participating in. The learning that is developed at the school board table, how can I transition that learning down to the classroom as well because it keeps the focus on the students as much as we can when we’re in true alignment at the multiple levels of a school district.”
Felderman, in his first year as superintendent, says he gets a different perspective of how a district functions after serving as a high school principal the last 10 years at West Delaware.
“I can’t imagine the amount of effort, dedication that our teachers and staff put in for the first day of school just to make sure that everything is right for our kids to come back and that kids feel comfortable coming back after a long summer. And I know many parents are also very happy for that to occur as well, but you can just see the enthusiasm oozing up all the classrooms across the district. And it’s being a former high school principal, I just saw the upper end of that spectrum, but, being able to be in all four buildings and seeing that progression pre-K through 12 and how our teachers set the right tone for the start of the school year is just fantastic and can’t compliment them enough for how they’re starting to build relationships even on day one.”
Hampton-Dumont hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new high school gym last Monday and Felderman says he was pleased with the turnout, with about 50 community members in attendance.
Pictured is the new gym at the Hampton-Dumont High School
