Joshua Heyer, Superintendent, Ogden Community School District, August 25, 2026

Our guest on our program today Joshua higher superintendent Ogden school district good to have you back. Well, thanks for having me Good morning. Did you escape before before class got started here, right? It’s not over here And yeah, we got the kids back in the building a lot of schools around well the state of Iowa actually started yesterday When we had our calendar committee We just felt that a Tuesday start would be the most the make the most sense for our school district So here we are welcoming kids back and we’re excited to get going And today for at least elementary It’s parent-teacher conference something you guys started was started a while ago and I know boon does it too They’re in the midst of that and again works out for parents just touch base make sure they get things headed in the right direction Yeah prior to me coming to Ogden. I actually have never seen this before But now that I’ve had four years of actually seeing it. I actually really appreciate it You know, and I think that it’s a great opportunity for our teachers to ask some questions of the parents, you know about their child build that connection and Vice versa the parents asked the questions to the teacher, you know, so that they’re just kind of starting off on the right foot So yeah, today is our first formal day of school six through 12 They’re in the building, but our pre K through five. They’re having some parent meetings later today right into the early Nothing nothing too too big. Now. Do you have some new elementary? faculty or staff or Are they a lot of the right same? Did you retain a lot or yes? Yeah, absolutely. We did okay That’s good because they know how it works. They do know how it works So yeah, we’re coming off it with a lot of veteran teachers that kind of know how things are working And they do they I think I would imagine that when they’re talking to parents especially new ones that just have a child coming in Here’s what we’re gonna be doing. Here’s how you can help You know, that’s the bottom line, you know help get them off on the right foot Yeah, man, that’s what everybody wants You know the school wants that the families want that so just an opportunity for them to sit and talk about their individual student Making sure that those routines and practice practices and everything that we’re asking them to do that We’re both working in the same direction. Yeah. Well, here we go I mean, just I just call it back to school week because now you’re you’re Preschool starts later though. They will start after Labor Day. Okay, so you guys are even later. Yeah, Jim I misspoke there, but they are later. I think they’re a week later. Okay, so now sometime next week. Yes, it is next week I apologize for that but yes the Labor Day part throws it. Yes Yes, I was awful in week, but yes, they will be starting next week. Yeah, and I getting most of them do Maybe United’s this later this week, but Each one a little different whatever fits the routine for the district Yeah, with those pre-k some people don’t know but there’s actually home visits that are embedded inside of that So just having a little bit more of a time on the contract for our teacher to do some of those Front-loading things that they need to do to make sure that when kids do come back into the building That they’re off on a right foot So that’s really the intent of maybe having kind of that staggered start comparative to the kindergarten through fifth grade Ogden do you still use Elm Street? We do partner with Elm Street. Yeah, okay There are a great critical partner for us They have third graders or excuse me three-year-olds four-year-olds as well as five-year-olds over in that So the statewide volunteer here preschool program is for the four-year-olds and I’m not sure exactly what their structure is But I’m sure the three five-year-olds or some type of a pay pay for service So it’s one of those again, and they’ve done that for a long time. They’re they’re pretty well established. So helps out All right. So yeah, now we got school going. Yay. Yeah, we’re going talk about some of the other things because obviously In boon for anybody who’s driven by they know the parking lots not done But your parking lot you started before school let out last spring Yeah, so for thank goodness for the listeners that listen quite a bit We started on April 18th and the intent was is that you know It’s gonna take quite a while to get this project done and would you rather? Disrupt the end of the school year or the beginning of the school year and we opted and there’s no right or wrong behind this But we started at April 18th, and it’s safe to say that we’re about 99% done There’s there’s some landscaping that needs to be done with some trees and seating And then unfortunately our light poles they were ordered right when the bid was accepted, but they’ve been on delay So the person that is responsible for the electrical portion of that contract is Done some real nice job modifying and giving us some safety lighting until those actual lights come in Which we’re hoping maybe mid-september, but but I’m really excited. I think the project turned out really nice And families were able to come back into the the campus and and see a really nice parking lot for well If you’re down to that final punch list part really that’s not bad Considering everything. I mean, you know it was in excess of a million and I mean it was a lot a lot of work It was very extensive project, you know We really basically went right back down to the dirt and started all over again for a lot of critical portions So yeah 1.3 million dollar project, and I think they did it right and I appreciate the community support and the board for Moving forward with it And I think it’s something that hopefully we don’t have to touch for quite a while now that we’ve invested in that and end your Contractor because you asked them to do some staging and throughout the summer to work around a different thing Right bright coming through and everything. Yeah, they’ve been pretty flexible Homeboy enterprise was the person that won that bid and they’ve really been good to work with and Ultimately really satisfied and happy to have this project all but off the list the other part of course is We had the bids that were done you had several contractors that actually bid for the the elementary renovation and rehabilitation, I guess we’ll call it and you wanted to try to get a lot of the demolition done before schools started so Grayball construction successful contractor for that and sounds like they went after it right away They did go after it. Yeah, it’s been a busy summer for us You know and you think the board actually awarded that contract on July 27th And in some of that, you know in the documentation specifications We basically asked grayball to get all the demolition the dirty aspect the loud part done before kids are back in the building And we knew that we’re almost asking them a near impossible task But man, they delivered some of their their general or excuse me their subcontractors croc to mention them Yeah, they are over there as well as their demolition crew and I walked through there actually yesterday And it is amazing what has happened in such short amount of time. So we’re off to a good start I’m really excited about working with grayball construction and what this project is gonna be able to do and If if the project is anything what August was yeah, I think we’re gonna have a great great project Okay, well and the big thing is is it is for some of the listeners will know what’s going on But really you’re taking some old space under the gym area the old locker rooms essentially and you get to make a Mutable room classrooms. Yes. Yeah, we when we move the junior high over to the 612 campus Probably six years ago that vacated locker room space because that used to be a junior high building And we’ve used it for storage and a lot of purposeful uses, but we’re also Needing to just reimagine what that space is gonna look like and that’s exactly what this project is doing It’s is moving our media center library underneath computer science art Tag and then when they are in that new space Next summer, they’re actually gonna remodel some of those spaces to help us with programming such as special education The board approved a tk program. So next next school year Yeah, we’ll be having a transitional full day pre-k program and we needed that space for that So this remodel allows us the ability to do some of that program Expansion yeah, and but bottom line is again It was when it was remodeled and added on to and everything else. It was middle school correct So it’s a little different size than elementary. Yeah, yeah The middle school needs versus we know what a pre-k five building are they’re just different So this really allows us that ability to go ahead and make those changes So it’s and this total part is this is a little bigger project where this is a couple of million, isn’t it? Yeah, I think the overall project that was awarded by gray ball was about 2.4 But by the time you start to get some engineering and technology and furniture in there I think it’s safe to say that is a three million dollar project easy by the time it’s done Course already had planned for how we’re gonna pay for this and everything else. That’s all been Was done earlier. Thank you for the voters. It’s supporting the pebble extension. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely We took out a note. Yeah, and that is a dollar thirty four That is the continuation of our voter pebble that’s been in place So we went ahead in both projects that we’ve talked about today Are being paid for with those it’s that was the plan So well, let’s talk about some of the other things now the last board meeting not a lot in there So did your board discuss much about disruptive students because most school boards do because you got really? No direction outside of it’s a law Yeah, so for our listeners last legislative session. There was Basically, they call it the violent nonviolent disruption just some behaviors and Just making sure that school districts are uniformly across the state are doing things that they need to do And we’ve been really working with the Department of Ed They provided some FAQ and attorneys and even the Iowa Association of school boards Created some model policy But really the summer was having a better understanding on what does this actually look like when we get kids back in the building? And but yeah We actually talked about that briefly at our last August meeting and they did a first reading of those board policies to get those things in place I think most boards are saying whatever the state law dictates We’re doing until the particulars come out and you can do you can set up what you need And that’s one thing that I’ve always said is is that we’re gonna follow the law, you know So, you know, if those are the things that are expected upon us and the Department of Ed gives us that guidance We’re gonna lean on our attorneys and the associations that we’re partnered with and help get that direction and we’re gonna do right so we had our Welcome back teachers and everything and administrators. That was all last week. I think you had everybody come in and stuff So did that everything go well there? What all happened? Yeah, we’ve been busy Just with welcoming new staff members and also well as our other staff back Go back all the way to a Friday before Boone County chambered as a really nice event Where they bring in all the the new people in the county so that he mattered boone some of our our private institutions Ogden as well and they just put on a really nice event that the new crook building over there So we that was a great kickoff for our new teachers We started there and then we came back and started to talk about just kind of our direction our mission vision a strategic plan and Really have a mentor teacher for them and start to just kind of understand how it’s gonna operate in Ogden community schools and Followed by that last Wednesday. We actually welcomed all staff back where we had Ogden legacy, which is just local businesses They came in and provided us a breakfast and then we did a kickoff and we also had some In job-embedded professional development During that day and then finally we actually just really strongly believe in building strong connections with the peers that you’re gonna be working with Really hard so we give them the opportunity in the afternoon to go do something in boone County, you know, whether that’s hiking at Don Williams Maybe it’s golfing in the past. We’ve even sometimes floated down the Des Moines River They’re able to find a variety of different activities and I think that just is a really good opportunity for them to connect Talk about kind of what their vision is in their classroom And you might have a first-grade teacher with a tenth-grade teacher Sure, so and they’re partnering and thinking about how they can work together So that’s really how we kicked off the school year and then there’s been just a lot of building level Meetings making sure that everybody is on the same page Talking about new legislative changes and those types of things and here we are we Families back into the building and students back in the building now, so full speed ahead So in through all of that, I mean some of the things we’ve touched about touched on before was the Screen time and things like that and you’d said all along you didn’t feel that we were going to be having an issue in August It was going to be you know, it’s what it is and and we work with it Yeah, I think it’s all admittedly with that specific one that you’re mentioning It’s about the intentionality and just making sure that our curriculum is being very intentional And if if we find a need that we want that technology and it’s going to enhance the instruction And or differentiate and support our students. We’re gonna do that for them But we’re also going to do it under the confinement of the law You know, we did an initial audit and and we felt that we were close Sure. So I think maybe some of those that maybe are going to be over They just got to be revisiting and thinking about those Activities and maybe coming up with an alternative option So I’ve been able to sit down with our our amazing principal Amy Krause And I actually sat down and listened to her present this to her teachers and I just saw a lot of head shaking you know, I think a lot of them understand the intent behind the law and It didn’t feel like it was going to disrupt their current practices too much. Yeah, I’m thinking most At least most of them are pretty well versed on When they’re going to be using it and it’s not like we’re just giving them free screen time That’s correct. You know, it’s we know what we do. We collaborate use it for collaboration things like that And there is the whiteboards. I mean, you know, that’s what they that’s what we use now days Yeah, and there’s also some exemptions with that law, you know So if you’re doing a benchmark testing, oh sure teachers using the technology to maybe display Those things aren’t included in that 60 minutes. It’s really specifically the student having that device in front of them and using that for Instructional purposes. Yeah. Well, we’ve got a lot of other things that are going on. So Your professional development. What what’s your direction this year? We’re really looking at how are we growing all students? So, you know, we may have proficient students and actually I’m proud to say that Ogden has a high level of proficiency But are we actually growing all students? So we’re looking at differentiation. We’re looking at the we’ve Adopted what’s called an instructional framework. It’s really best practices and we want to make sure that our teachers are Well-equipped and understand what that looks like and supporting them when they’re trying to do those new strategies in their classroom So it’s really about the integration of those instructional practices and growing all students in in areas So keep working at that too. All right, we’ve got sports Yeah, I wanted wanted to hit on that because I’m figuring Jeremy’s had practice band practices for a while already So yeah, he has and also, you know with the the state fair and just all the things going on You know you got so many students that are involved. So I think he’s pretty understanding those things But nonetheless things are gonna be full speed ahead this week You know, you got some of the scrimmages some of those practices done and over with and Yeah, we’re gonna hit the ground running this week with our fall activities. So look forward to it a lot of other things happening Yeah, otherwise. Oh, I know. Yeah, because you were doing some Transportation recruitment, I guess we’ll call it Like many districts we need some bus drivers There’s a need for drop bus drivers So if you’re a listener out there and you’re maybe wanting to help out a little bit by all means reach out to us But yeah, the board actually took action and I hope it will help It’s trying to incentivize our current staff members on going out there and and talking about our need And maybe that will spark an interest in somebody that they know and in the return They’re gonna kind of get almost like a recruitment bonus if you will, but yeah We’re probably in the need of a daily route driver as well as activity and we’d even take some subs out there So again our listeners are at out there and they want to drive a little bit by all means reach out to myself or Denny Good, yeah Well, we’ve touched a little bit on this last time you were looking to you if you want to drive students to a game or so We need some drivers. So we’re thinking outside the box I the good thing is that we’re in pretty good hands with Denny, you know I think he works really good with our activities director on figuring those things out and Well one way or the other we’re gonna get it, you know Kids are picked up and we’re ready to go and again, you’re not the only district Everybody’s kind of looking to have that at least have some people back up to the backup and substitute and stuff Yeah, right now nobody can be sick. Yeah. Yeah, okay. We got that Joshua higher our guest on our program today superintendent for the Ogden school district. Thanks so much for joining us. Thank you