Pope is new elementary principal at Central
By Willis Patenaude
Summer days are beginning to recede, and students will soon return to Central school, where the halls and classrooms have sat mostly idle since late spring.
That changes next week, when the hustle and bustle of activity resumes, and students begin a new year with new teachers, new classes and maybe even some new friends. They will also experience another change, with the school board’s decision earlier this year to enter into a superintendent sharing agreement with Eastern Allamakee. The move will have staff and students in the elementary working with and being guided by a new principal, Amy Pope, who is taking over the role previously held by Trenkamp.
Although the change presents something new and different, Pope is not an unfamiliar face within the district or community. She was born and raised in Elkader, where she lived near what is now Founders Park until the 2008 flood sent the family packing to the country by Volga.
Pope is a Central graduate, as is her husband Matthew, and with any luck, so will their three children, Madelyn, Jace and Brady, who have all attended Central pre-school.
Pope is not likely to get lost in the meandering hallways, sometimes confusing to the uninitiated. She is also likely to know many of the names of teachers and staff, as well as students, where her children attend and learn in what Pope described as a “great public school system,” where even the bus driver knows their names.
“As a parent, just coming into those conferences and coming into the classroom, the teachers are so welcoming to my children and to the other children. It’s just a positive place when you walk in the door,” Pope said.
Aside from the personal connections, Pope’s professional ones, as well as her experience, have allowed her to hit the ground running. She didn’t just attend sporting events, fundraisers and conferences, she was a member of the school board for four years between 2018 and 2022, where she worked with others on the Return to Learn plan during the Covid-19 pandemic, trying to ensure every student had support and didn’t lose out on the education process.
“We just always had the students in mind, like that was always at the forefront,” Pope recalled of that period for the board.
It was also a time when she learned information and procedures that would become useful down the road. This includes understanding board policies more thoroughly, knowing about the budget, schedules and standards, while also working as a team during high stress situations and taking into consideration multiple perspectives on an issue.
“I want to learn as much as I can about our system and then help our staff build on that. For myself, my goal is always to keep striving to do what is best for our students,” Pope said.
While the experience on the board helped, Pope also has years of experience in education and a lengthy list of endorsements. She has a master’s of education, elementary reading and literacy and a bachelor of arts in elementary education with endorsements in PK-K early childhood, K-8 reading, K-8 instructional strategist 1, K-12 coaching, special education consultant and PK-12 principal/PK-12 special education supervisor and evaluator.
Pope’s education history includes two years with Northeast Iowa Community Action’s Head Start as their education specialist, before teaching fifth and sixth grade special education at Starmont for six years. She later transitioned to teaching kindergarten and first grade special education, and spent her final two years at Starmont teaching kindergarten.
Pope’s last 10 years in education were at Keystone AEA, where she was a special education consultant serving multiple districts. In addition, she spent the last two years in a shared position where she was the director of special education for South Winneshiek and a special education consultant for Keystone.
Although Pope “loved the work” she did for Keystone and acknowledged it’s a “great place to work” that is important for area schools, she knew that, when and if the principal position ever opened at Central, she had to apply.
“I always said that, if Central opened an elementary principal position, that I would apply,” Pope said. Central “is the place that I knew I wanted to be at. This is the one that, in my heart, I knew was right.”
When it comes to what makes Pope a good fit for Central, Trenkamp said what stuck out about her over two other candidates was “her personality as well as her experiences with Central as a parent, board member and a variety of supporting roles as an AEA employee.”
As for Pope, along with the “unique experiences,” she brings other intangibles to the position, like enthusiasm, organization and a general positivity that is always looking out for what’s best for the kids.
As principal, Pope intends to be “extremely visible,” with an open door policy so staff know that, not only is she available, but they are also a team. Pope also expressed that she will spend time with students, whether in the classroom sitting with them on the carpet, at the lunch table or on the bus. She might even join them for a game of kickball during recess.
It’s about being accessible, visible and engaging.
“I am excited about being in the classrooms with the students and helping the teachers reach their goals and meeting the needs of our students,” Pope said.
To achieve those goals and meet needs, Pope discussed building upon the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) Central already has in place, which supports every student emotionally, academically and behaviorally.
“We have what we do for the universal for everybody. Then we have what we can do and support if they need a little bit more. And then having that quality special education program that supports those students that need that. Just having a strong system and things laid out so that way, when an individual student needs something different, we can support that and we can figure it out to help them reach their potential,” Pope explained.
When Pope isn’t hard at work trying to make life better for students and building relationships with teachers, she often enjoys the outdoors with her family or can be found working on the family’s hobby farm with chickens, pigs and sometimes a cow. It blends well with Pope’s admiration for small town life, with its welcoming atmosphere and friendliness. In Elkader, it’s “cozy,” people know your name and it’s a safe place to send your kids to school.
Maybe that’s why Pope has encountered few challenges since taking over the elementary principal position in July—aside from locating the random supply closet, she casually joked. Though there might be some “first day jitters,” it’s a job Pope is ready for, determined to succeed at and “super grateful” to have. It’s highly likely her smile will be greeting all the elementary kids as they arrive for the first day back to school.
