|
| Barbara Grohe reads to Iowa City kindergartners. Photo: Scott Norris / Iowa City Press-Citizen |
One school's playground is part of a city park system. A full gym for adults and a day care center for children are among features of the newest school building, which doubles as a community center. A community reading month is sponsored by a local bank, which funds weeklong visits to the school district by nationally known children's authors.
These and other innovations in the Iowa City Community School District have earned Superintendent Barbara Grohe, MED '68, the res pect of her peers and the title of 1998 National Superintendent of the Year from the American Association of School Administrators. Grohe and 49 other state superintendents of the year competed for the national honor, which was decided by a team of educators and business people representing the association.
The award came with a $10,000 scholarship to be passed along to a student at Grohe's high school alma mater in New Kensington, Pa., a gold medallion and a $2,000 savings bond. Grohe's school district is the eighth-largest in Iowa, with 10,500 students from a diverse mix of international, minority, affluent and needy families.
Grohe has countered financial limitations that challenge today's schools by establishing strong ties between her district and the comm-unity. The number of partnerships between schools and businesses has increased from 25 when she became superintendent in 1990 to 250 today.
Volunteers also are vital, donating thousands of hours a year to the schools so muc h time, in fact, that school officials have estimated the work would cost the district $1 million annually if the community members earned minimum wage.
"I believe that children who get a quality education have a better chance at a successful life," Grohe says. "Adults have a responsibility to give that chance to as many children as possible."
Grohe's career in education began in 1968 when she took a job as an elementary school teacher with New Kensington-Arnold schools in her hometown. S he also worked as a teacher and administrator in Wisconsin before taking the post in Iowa City.
Besides the master's in education she received from OU in 1968, Grohe earned a bachelor's degree in education at Clarion (Pa.) State College in 1967 and a doctorate in urban education at the University of Milwaukee in 1981.
--Amy Geier, BSJ '98
