Erickson selected to lead Southwest Valley

The Southwest Valley School District has selected its new superintendent.
During the week of March 17, the Southwest Valley School District interviewed three finalists to replace outgoing superintendent Chris Fenster, who is leaving the district at the end of the school year. Officials with the district announced that Joe Erickson was selected as the district’s new superintendent.
Erickson is currently the seven-year superintendent at North Iowa Community School District in Buffalo Center, and spent 20 years in teaching and leadership positions in K-12 education, as well as serving as elementary principal in Eagle Grove. Erickson said he heard about the position through word of mouth, and had always kept an eye towards Corning, having taught for the district before.
“Word of mouth led to me being aware that the position came open, and I’m actually good friends with superintendent Chris Fenster. When he accepted another position, the Southwest Valley superintendent’s position was immediately interesting for me. I actually started my career at Corning, and as it became part of Southwest Valley, it’s always been a district that I’ve kept an eye on,” Erickson explained. “It’s very much close to home for me where I grew up, and worked in Corning and also over in Red Oak for a while. I’m still very connected to the area, and I had a lot of people reaching out to me as soon as that position came open.
Erickson said his excitement level was through the roof when he found out he’d been selected as Southwest Valley’s new superintendent.
“It was a 10 out of 10. That’s the best way I would describe it. There’s the idea of, on a personal level, coming home and being near a lot of my family and friends here. In the weeks leading up to the interview, I spent time researching and sort of relearning things,” advised Erickson. “It’s been probably 15 years since I worked in the area, so I ended up relearning a lot of things. The excitement is not just because of where I’m going to be working, It’s because of who I’m working with and the work that’s being done.”
Erickson said he was also pleased to see the level of Southwest Valley students and staff during the day of the interview.
“We were walking around and you could get a vibe walking through the buildings in Villisca. The connection, you can just feel that in the building, the connection that the staff had with the students and what that was like. In Corning, they’ve got a new elementary building that’s going up, and there’s a lot of excitement there as well. The vision that they put into that and the thought process for the project was incredible,” Erickson stated. As I walked through the high school with the principal talking about the opportunities that they had for kids, I was very impressed. The work that they’re doing was amazing.”
Erickson also said the district did a phenomenal job of putting together groups that led the interview process.
“I was able to speak with high school students, and talk to community members. I went on tours, and getting reintroduced to things was so enjoyable. And then being able to meet with some of the staff and the leadership there, the school boards, and just what their vision for things going forward was quite beneficial,” commented Erickson.
Erickson also discussed some of his priorities as he gets ready to take over the superintendent’s position July 1.
I think wrapping up the elementary project there in Corning, that’s a priority. Making sure that everything’s finished on time and done at a really high level. It’s just crucial that things are done the right way. You don’t want to have to come back two years later and be making major changes. Beyond that, everything revolves around people. I’ll be getting involved with the communities, getting involved in the fair and anything else going on during the summer, I think that’s a huge part of what the position is. It will be fun, even before things get started in July, starting to reach out to some of the staff members and connect with them a little bit,” explained Erickson.
Erickson added the district has tremendous leadership in place right now, and he thinks  Chris Fenster has done an unbelievable job of putting together a staff that’s ready to move forward with things. Erickson said he’ll be making sure he’ there to serve the district and make sure it has the resources to get the year started really well.
Southwest Valley School Board President Board President, Staci Venteicher said she was pleased Erickson was joining the district.
“The Southwest Valley Board Members, along with our students, staff, parents and community are excited to welcome Mr. Joe Erickson as our new superintendent. We believe Mr. Erickson is an excellent choice because of his passion for education and his knowledge of school finance,” Venteicher said.
Villisca School Board President Jason Poston echoed Venteicher’s praise.
“The School Board reviewed and discussed valuable feedback from 48 Focus Group members who interviewed each of our top three candidates as they worked to reach this decision. The board greatly appreciated the time, effort and dedication of the 48 Focus broup members as they provided valuable insights into our selection process and interviews. We look forward to their continuing support of our students,” stated Poston.