Tag Archives: Bill Decker

Muscatine school superintendent leaving for AEA job in Bettendorf

Bill Decker

Bill Decker

In an email this morning to staff members, Muscatine Community School District Superintendent Bill Decker said he will leave to become chief administrator at the Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency in Bettendorf on July 1. The Muscatine school board tonight is expected to release Decker from his contract.

Decker has been superintendent in Muscatine since 2009. During his time here, the district launched a number of new educational programs including Global Generation, or G2. The hands-on learning program for Muscatine middle and high school students calls for students to work in teams to solve problems and create class projects. The Muscatine program has been studied by some state officials who would like to introduce it statewide.

The following is a copy of the letter Decker sent to school staff members:

Dear Muscatine Community School District Staff Members:

This note is to inform you that I have been offered the position of Chief Administrator at the Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency in Bettendorf, Iowa beginning July 1, 2013. Pending release by the Muscatine School Board this evening, I plan to accept that offer.  While I am looking forward to new challenges and have been given an awesome opportunity at the AEA, I will deeply miss our continuous progress. I will miss working directly with all of you, as you are an incredible staff.

The hard work of the staff to make the district a better, more effective place for students has been appreciated. I have been fortunate to work with each of you, and the effort of all of us working together as a team is the key to many substantial improvements becoming reality in the last four years.  Each of you plays an important role in making the MCSD an exceptional place for students!

One of the most appealing aspects of my appointment to the AEA position is the fact that my family and I can remain living here in Muscatine.  I am passionate about our community and also for continuing the work in the district of making substantial improvements in results for students.  I have assured the board that I will do everything I can to enable a successful transition, and will also continue to serve in any productive way possible into the future.

I have been honored and privileged to serve as Superintendent here in Muscatine. Community support, efforts of many great people, and incredible care and passion for students are on display in our district every day.  It is truly amazing and inspiring.  The administrative team and directors are some of the most dedicated, professional and kid-centered groups I have ever been associated with.  Please continue working together and continuously improving for the good of our students and community.

In my heart, I will always be a Muskie!

Sincerely,

Bill Decker

Getting past writer’s block by looking back at 2012

Julie

Clockwise from the lower-right corner: Mark Evans, Dan Rose, Chris Steinbach, Dave Humeston and Julie Rose were among the Muscatine bicyclists who stopped for a break at Reason’s Locker in Buffalo Prairie, Ill., during a ride last March.

This morning, I’ll let you in on a little secret: Many of the things that get posted early in the morning in this little corner of the Internet are often written the night before.

Such is the case with this installment. The only problem is what seems to be a temporary case of writer’s block. And the only cure I’ve ever found for that is to just write until you find something — then go back and revise.

So, since it’s only Jan. 3, I’m hoping it’s not too late to just start writing about 2012, because that’s what I’ve done. March was my most-productive blogging month in 2012 with 56 posts, according to WordPress. They included posts about:

  • Dartmouth College President Jim Yong Kim, a 1978 Muscatine High School graduate, being chosen by President Barack Obama to lead the World Bank.It was one of my most-read posts of the year and I’m pretty sure Brome Hill was the first place in Muscatine that the news was reported.
  • Bill Decker, superintendent of the Muscatine Community School District since 2009, being one of five finalists to interview for the same job in the Cedar Falls Community School District. He stayed in Muscatine, but this was another scoop for Brome Hill.
  • Two new shops that had opened up in the 200 block of West Second Street. Doc Cindy’s Doll Hospital & Shop at 207 W. Second St. and Simple Solutions Nutrition Club at 201 W. Second St. are both still in business.

In my slowest month, I wrote one blog post. But I averaged 19 per month for the year. And I have good reason to expect to write even more this year. In December, I wrote 49 posts. This will be my 11th post in January. That equals nearly four posts per day. Doing that consistently should enable Brome Hill to have more days like Tuesday, Dec. 18, when I posted four stories and had 173 unique visitors. They visited the blog an average of nearly three times per person on Dec. 18.

Clearly, the secret to driving traffic on a blog is to post consistently and often. So that will be a goal for 2013. Another goal: Get more of you to post comments.

Writing more blog posts should also result in an increase in photos. Here are some of my favorites from March 2012:

Pies

Lunch served at the Button Factory Woodfire Grille to Kiwanis Club members included homemade pie of almost every imaginable flavor. They were baked by Maxine Calvert, 76, of Muscatine, mother of Guy Calvert of East Moline, Ill. He owned the Button Factory at 215 W. Mississippi Drive with his wife, Jan. The restaurant has since gone out of business.

china-3

Yang Guoqiang, the Consul General of People’s Republic of China in Chicago, spoke in March at a luncheon held at Geneva Golf & Country Club in Muscatine.

charlie-12

Charlie Harper, from the left, Carol Ward and Chuck Vesey loaded bikes on a nice Tuesday afternoon in March at Harper’s Cycling & Fitness for the tailwind ride they held to celebrate Charlie’s 76th birthday.

An apology to Bill Decker and Muscatine school district

black-crow-silhouette-perchThe season’s first snowfall arrived today at Brome Hill with a heaping order of crow.

When I woke up at 4 a.m., it was raining pretty hard. In fact, we had thunderstorms throughout the night here on the west bank of the Mississippi River. Without getting out of bed, I grabbed my phone and started reading my Twitter feed to find weather news.

And then I sent out this tweet:

tweet

Unfortunately, misspelling “cancelled” wasn’t my biggest mistake with this tweet, because the canceled winter storm warning was upgraded to a blizzard warning.

After I headed for the Muscatine Community Y to teach a cycling class, Bill Decker, the Muscatine superintendent of schools, responded with a tweet that I can’t find now in order to post it here. But according to the text message I received from Twitter it said:

“@CSteinbach, winter storm warning canceled because it was upgraded to a blizzard warning. Student safety>name calling #NotFunny. #NotClassy.”

Fair enough. And I apologize to Decker for jumping the gun with a tweet that was meant to be funny and fell short.

For what it’s worth, he got the last laugh without knowing it a few hours later when I was pelted by sleet as we loaded Christmas food baskets at the Salvation Army for 30-some MCSA residents.

The lessons learned from this experience for me are:

  • School officials are often second-guessed for closing — or not closing — school when winter weather strikes. From here on out, however, I no longer plan to be among the second-guessers.
  • Without a doubt, student safety should always be priority No. 1.
  • Flippant tweets sent at 4:30 in the morning are best left to others. And the next time I feel the urge, I plan to roll over and go back to sleep.
  • Crow isn’t very tasty, but it can be choked down if eaten with enough Sriracha sauce. (OK, no more jokes, I promise.)

As for my not being funny or lacking class, I’m not going to spend much time today worrying about such shortcomings. I’m going to be too busy shoveling snow.

Muscatine school leader interviewing today in Cedar Falls

MUSCATINE, Iowa — Bill Decker, superintendent of the Muscatine Community School District since 2009,  is one of five finalists interviewing for the same job in the Cedar Falls Community School District.

Decker is interviewing today for the job. A community reception will be held from 4:30-5:15 p.m. at the James L. Robinson Administration Center, 1002 W. First St. in Cedar Falls.

Other finalists being interviewed this week include: Andrew Pattee, superintendent, Charles City and Riceville Community School Districts; Lisa Remy, associate superintendent of human resources, West Des Moines Community School District; John Carver, superintendent, Van Meter Community School District; and Mike Wells, superintendent, Winterset Community School District.