New NV, CAM superintendent steps into ‘dream job’

Editor’s Note: This is the first in a two-part series introducing Nodaway Valley and CAM’s new shared superintendent, Dr. Pam Stangeland.

A school district that has focus, is the right size and possesses a strong tradition is where Dr. Pam Stangeland wanted to land if she took a superintendent position. She feels Nodaway Valley and Cumberland-Anita-Massena fit those attributes well.

Stangeland began Tuesday, July 1, as the shared superintendent of the two districts. Her hire in April was the result of a widespread search the districts launched together with the help of the search firm McPherson and Jacobson, LLC.

Stangeland and her husband Don have been married for 37 years and moved to the area recently. They report they’ve received a warm, genuine welcome. Their three adult children are Jordan, Taylor and Savana, and they have four grandchildren.

Jordan is married and is a school resource officer for the South Hamilton Community School District while Savana, married as well, teaches kindergarten in the same district.

Taylor, born with multiple disabilities, is central to why Stangeland got started in education.

“We didn’t expect him to live much past infancy. He is 32 now, lives in a group home and we’ve had to advocate for him strongly through special education and all the education mazes,” Stangeland said. “He’s honestly a big reason why I became an educator.”

Stangeland’s first job in education was as a Level 2 behavioral disorders paraeducator when Taylor was still infant.

“The principal said it would be challenging but I said that [job] sounds fun to me,” Stangeland said. “I didn’t know anything about special education, other than what I learned in my undergraduate. I took on that paraeducator role at South Hamilton and quickly learned that education was the way for my son to achieve success and for a lot of other kids.”

Stangeland’s first teaching jobs were at Boone and South Hamilton, but after she received her educational leadership degree at Iowa State University, she transitioned into being a principal, first leading the entire Graettinger-Terrill district, east of Okoboji in northwest Iowa. Because it was such a small school, she became immersed in many parts of the district’s operations and was able to learn a lot.

Stangeland next transitioned to the Ames Community School District, where she was an elementary principal, then head principal for the district’s middle school.

“I felt I needed to become more well-rounded in different size schools and what was happening,” Stangeland said. “I felt like Ames had the influence to be able to do some really great things for kids, and they did.”

Stangeland then became a regional administrator for Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency, based in Fort Dodge. After that, she was director of special education for Fort Dodge, then Boone.

By the time she was in Boone, Stangeland was working on her doctorate and also became an associate superintendent.

“I think it’s a huge advantage having been a central office administrator. People do it, but I would not recommend people go immediately from the principalship to the superintendency. I think that your aperture has to grow so much larger because your focus as a principal is only on your building-level, and there’s really so much more to see,” Stangeland said. “Being in Fort Dodge and Boone, I was able to work with all of the departments and multiple schools. That’s where I was really able to refine my skills in systems leadership.”

While it is common to have to-do lists, a favorite education author/speaker of hers, Doug Reeves, says to also have a not-to-do list so you stay on mission. At Nodaway Valley and CAM, Stangeland has an entry plan she has designed that she intends to use.

Her first few months since being hired has been focused on learning as much as she can about NV and CAM so that she can put names with faces and know the values of area communities. Her next step will be introducing herself to the community and surveying the community to learn more about what they value.

“I know what the board values or what came out in the interviews, but I really want to dig a little bit deeper,” Stangeland said. “I want to see what our communities value and what are our non-negotiables. I want to see what they want to see in the next 15-20 years, because that’s what I need to set the district up to head into successfully.”

Stangeland believes being able to steer the district effectively means she needs to listen carefully to those she engages with.

It isn’t as if she won’t be leading the district all along, but the last phase of her entry plan is leading, once all the data and information are gathered.

“At that time, we can gather all the data we’ve accumulated, meet with some leadership teams and really talk about what are those next steps. We’ll set goals as a district and then set goals as an administration team by building that are based on data, accountability and what the community wants us to do for their students,” she said. “We’ll create a plan and action steps moving forward from that.”