New MS principal hopes to build on momentum


Todd Werner poses outside the new Monticello Middle School building, which he will oversee as the district’s newest principal. (Photo by Pete Temple)
By: 
Pete Temple
Express Associate Editor

     There is a long list of reasons Todd Werner was interested in becoming principal of Monticello Middle School.

     Perhaps the biggest one has to do with momentum.

     “I want to continue to build upon the positive momentum that’s going on right now,” Werner said.

     During an interview in his new office, just four days before the start of classes, the 50-year-old Werner rattled off a number of reasons why he was interested in the job, which became available when Brent Meier retired.

     “When I started asking people about the district, I heard nothing but good things,” Werner said. “They told me how the community had supported building a new school. The climate of the district was really going in a good direction.

     “It was an opportunity to move into a brand new building, and I also like the fact that I was coming into a position that was being opened up by a retirement. Sometimes positions open because it’s just time for a change, or there are issues. This was something that was definitely a positive.”

     Werner also said he likes the idea of a grade 5-8 building, an age range he enjoys working with.

     There is also the matter of the area. He and his family live in Solon, he has a sister who lives in Anamosa, and friends who live near Monticello.

     And, he moves to a district about twice the size of his previous one, as grade 7-12 principal in Belle Plaine.

     “To me it’s a step up from where I was,” Werner said. “I’ve always had the goal to continue to challenge myself and move up in the education world, and that was possible here.

     “And, I heard good things about Dr. (Brian) Jaeger,” he said. “People spoke very highly of him.

     “All of those things, combined.”

     It all prompted him to make a quick decision when he was offered the job by Jaeger, the district superintendent.

     “When Dr. Jaeger called me, he asked how long I need to decide,” Werner recalled. “I said, ‘I can give you an answer right now. I’ll take it.’ ”

     That he had made the right decision was solidified after attending one of the open house events in the new building, the night before this interview.

     “If the community feels involved in the school, that’s a positive thing,” Werner said. “This new building just opens that door for all that. The excitement level that I saw last night from all the people here was great.

     “Despite everything that’s been happening lately, with having to wear masks, and the storm that hit just outside our area, it was nothing but positive last night. Parents were excited, kids were excited. It was just a great night. So anything I can continue to do to support that, is my goal.”

     Werner grew up in Williamsburg, where he played basketball and ran track.

     “I had some coaches that I really enjoyed, and that was really where my interest in schools and teaching and coaching came from,” he said.

     He attended the University of Northern Iowa and majored in physical education. He also had a sports medicine minor, and served as an athletic trainer for three years, working mostly with the football team.

     “I was in charge of the (training for) the offense in the Kurt Warner years,” he said, referring to the Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback who played at UNI. “Those were fun times.”

     He went on to become a student teacher in what is now the AGWSR school district in Wellsburg, where he was also head coach for boys basketball and track.

     He was there for two years, and then was hired at Northeast Hamilton, which is north of Ames, as a K-12 P.E. teacher and tutor. He coached girls basketball, boys track and junior high football during his four years there.

     Werner spent one year out of teaching, working for the Highway Equipment Company in Cedar Rapids.

     “It was a great experience, but it also showed me that I wanted to be in education,” he said.

     Werner went on to teach elementary P.E. at Linn-Mar for nine years. During the Linn-Mar years, he earned two master’s degrees, one for arts and teaching from Coe College, and one for school administration from UNI. He also served as an assistant women’s basketball coach at Coe.

     Werner has also spent significant time in radio, doing color commentary for high school football and basketball for Cedar Rapids radio stations. In 2016, he traveled with the UNI women’s basketball team, doing radio commentary for about a dozen of the team’s games, mostly road games.

     He credits two superintendents at Linn-Mar, Jim Gard and Jeff Schneekloth, for nudging Werner into school administration.

     “They were great,” Werner said. “We got along well, and I liked how they interacted with parents, kids and teachers. Our personalities were very similar.”

     As a results, Werner was hired as grade 7-12 principal at WACO, and spent four years there before going to Belle Plaine.

     Now, Werner hopes to keep the positive vibes of the Monticello district going.

     “We want to continue to see improvements with the overall learning of our student,” he said. “That’s always a goal.

     “And, we need to continue to bring in great teachers and staff to work with the kids here. That’s a big role as an administrator, getting the best people you can to work with your students.”

     Todd and Paula lives in Solon with sons Colin (16 years old) and Brent (14), and daughter Kendall (12).

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