Nicole Kooiker Settling In As GCSD Interim Superintendent

Nicole Kooiker didn’t get the first job she sought in the Glenwood Community School District more than a decade ago.

The second time around proved a far better match.

Kooiker, 49, was hired as the district’s interim superintendent  following the surprise April resignation of Dr. Devin Embray, who left the position after 14 years. Kooiker offcially  began her new position on July 1.

The job fulfills a longtime ambition for Kooiker to work in the western half of the state and Glenwood in particular. Back in 2009 she interviewed for the Glenwood Middle School principal position.

Kooiker calls Glenwood a “destination district.”

“I have always watched Glenwood and this area,” she said. “First of all, Glenwood does a lot of things well and they’re a good-sized district. There’s a lot of opportunity for kids and in student achievement and academics, they perform really well. I also like the idea it’s closer to a large city but still a small community and a small district. It’s a great opportunity to form relationships.

“Glenwood does a lot of things well in their school system which also means they have a supportive community because you can’t have one without the other.”
Just one month into the job, Kooiker said the transition has gone “very well,” as she gets to know staff, students and the community.

“It was good to have RAGBRAI to make some additional connections; everybody has been very welcoming and very friendly,” said Kooiker, who is renting an apartment on Glenwood’s Town Square. “It’s been a great start.”

Embray, who has since taken over the interim superintendent position at the Fairbury (Neb.) Community Schools, has been integral in the smooth transition.

“I spent a lot of time here between May and June working with Devin and we talk quite a bit,” she said. “He’s been a great asset to help transition me into the role and the Glenwood community. He’s spent a lot of time with me and has done a great job getting used to the job and getting to know people and some of the intricacies of the role here in Glenwood.”

A native of George, in northwest Iowa, Kooiker – pronounced “koy-ker” – brings with her more than two decades of classroom and administrative experience. The previous three years, she served as deputy superintendent at the Cedar Rapids School District. Prior to Cedar Rapids, she was the superintendent in the Ottumwa School District from 2016-2020 and the West Marshall School District from 2013-16. She is also a former principal and a physical education and science teacher.

The move to western Iowa also brings her closer to family.

“My parents are two hours away but it’s a whole lot closer than five hours away,” she said.

fter three years as a deputy superintendent at Cedar Rapids, the state’s second largest school district, Kooiker said the Glenwood job opened up at just the right time.

“I was doing all of those things anyway (at Cedar Rapids) and the interim piece gave me the opportunity to try it and get a feel for the district, get a feel for the community and the school board and them to get a feel for me.”

Kooiker accepted the position with no guarantees. The contract is for one year and the board has stated it would be opening up the position for additional applications next spring.

That interim tag, however, didn’t scare Kooiker. Nor does it change a thing for how she will perform her duties.

“Whether you’re going to be all in for a year or multiple years, once you take that role as superintendent, you’re leading the district and making sure you’re doing all the tasks, whether you’re interim or not. The job is the same.”

Based on her first few weeks on the job, Kooiker is already “extremely interested” in remaining in the role beyond her interim status.

“I knew from the start there would be a formal (permanent hiring) process and I can apply but there will be other people who will want the position as well. I’ve had nothing but a great experience here so far.

“Just having been here a few months I can tell this is a great place to be.”

Kooiker takes over in Glenwood at an interesting inflection point: the district is transitioning its presence off the Glenwood Resource Center campus and about to begin construction on a new $6 million building north of the high school. That new facility will house the district’s central offices, its THRIVE alternative school, technology and food services  offices and the innovation center.

In her previous stops, the academic and instructional pieces of the job were closest to her heart, but she doesn’t shy away from talking about her love of school finance.

“I love numbers and budgeting and financial forecasting,” she said. “Probably to a fault. But I love diving into numbers and seeing where we’re at, where we can save and where we provide to additional services for kiddos.”

Kooiker concedes parachuting into a new district, with its new financial questions and new staff and a new community while also juggling the many active projects and demands of a new position may seem complex. Her response to that, however, is anything but.
You navigate it by simply talking and listening.

“You schedule a lot of time with a lot of people, do a whole lot of listening and you figure out what the needs are quickly,” she said. “Losing the resource center is hard for the whole community but I think making sure we’re looking at all options and moving forward and making sure we can support all of our programs within the community and school district is key.”