Articles in Ted’s Talk

May 4-8 is the designated “Teacher Appreciation Week,” and I hope you will take a little time to express appreciation to the educators who impact your lives or the lives of your children this week. Probably anyone who…

I am enjoying the recent beautiful weather, as I’m sure everyone else is, and it has caused me to pause and reflect on all of the exciting things happening in the school district and community. Each school board…

Are you sharpening the saw? Years ago I read Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and those habits have stuck with me, becoming part of my worldview. One of those 7 Habits is called “Sharpen the…

The Iowa Core and its “Characteristics of Effective Instruction” are not new, but new this school year is an electronic template Indianola CSD administrators are using to observe the Characteristics of Effective Instruction in Indianola classrooms. Each of…

This is American Education Week, and next week is Thanksgiving week. The confluence of those two things has served to remind me how very thankful I am for many great things in my life. For this purposes of…

It has been an exciting fall for Indianola Community School District’s extracurricular programs and clubs. There have been conference championships, playoff appearances, division one ratings, and all-state selections. Everyone enjoys seeing successful programs and individual accomplishments. What I…

October 15 Indianola Community School District Facilities Director Rick Branson and I had the opportunity to meet with a group that has been working on sustainability and strategic planning for Indianola. The community I moved from, Fairfield, had…

The superintendent, in consultation with the transportation director, will make school delay, early release, or cancelation decisions in the event of inclement weather. Weather forecasts and hour-by-hour weather conditions will be tracked through NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric…

October 27-28 a group of around 30 superintendents from across the state will be visiting Indianola to participate in Instructional Rounds. These superintendents are trained as facilitators of  the Instructional Rounds process and lead visits to schools within…

Indianola CSD Facilities Upgrades It has been busy and exciting as Indianola CSD has begun a new school year! Irving Elementary’s eight-week indoor project had a compressed work schedule that was approved as substantially complete August 4 (meaning…

When I began to consider pursuing the Indianola CSD superintendent position, I kept coming back to the fact that it was a very unique opportunity. There are many great schools and communities out there, and I have worked…