“At the elementary, we’ve worked to reduce the behaviors that get in the way of learning by using Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS),” said Hemiller. “PBIS is a framework for supporting student’s behavioral, academic, social, emotional, and mental health.

“We’ve kicked off getting back to the basics with teachers teaching and students learning and making that a priority every day,” he added. “Our main goal is to make certain we are hitting the standards for the kids and making sure the kids are ready to learn every class period.”

Hemiller said that the district has increased its social media and online presence.

“We have a brand-new website that we rolled out in October,” he said. “It’s user-friendly and provides a lot of information that people can find quickly. We also have a district app now that people can download to their phones if they want to know what’s for lunch or what time a ballgame starts.”

Hemiller notes that he has inherited some excellent infrastructure improvements.

“The Lake View parking lot got poured this summer,” he said. “Two years ago, there was an addition to the elementary and high school.

“Overall, we are sitting in a pretty good spot. We’re currently involved in a playground project for the elementary school, which will start this upcoming summer in Sac City; we’re looking at all new equipment and poured rubber base for part of the playground. In future years, we will need to address the parking lot in Sac City and what will be done with the Lake View three-story building.

“Also, this summer, we’ll finish up the HVAC units in the elementary school, so every single classroom in the district will have air conditioning going into the 2024-25 school year.”

Regarding technology, Hemiller said his district’s goal is to create balance with its use.

“We work with a very good tech company based out of Sac City,” he said. “We’re to the point where every student has access to a device. We don’t, however, want every student to be on a device 24/7. In the lower elementary, our kids have access to technology when it’s needed. Otherwise, we try to do things traditionally, teaching kids how to be responsible with technology. At East Sac, there’s a lot of education that takes place without the use of technology. We use technology as a tool, but not as a mode of education.”

Even though it’s wintertime, East Sac is getting ready for the hiring season.

“There’s quite a shortage of educators in the state of Iowa,” said Hemiller. “Our online presence helps us to be more attractive to potential teachers. We already have seven jobs posted for the 2024-25 school year, and we’re going to do our best to attract candidates. We’ve been able to hire a new physical education teacher for the position that has been open since the beginning of the year as well as a new business administrator for the current person who is retiring.”

Hemiller acknowledged that personnel shortages go all the way through the ranks from paraprofessionals to administrators.

“There are fewer people going into public service,” said Hemiller. “The medical field is seeing it. The law enforcement field is seeing it. Our educational field is seeing it. We have fewer people going into all these professions.

“We need to appreciate all these people at a rate that our children leave school saying that they want to get into public service, that they want to go to college to be – for instance – a nurse, a teacher, a police officer.”

Prior to his superintendency at East Sac, Hemiller had a seven-year tenure as principal at Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn. Hemiller’s nine-year teaching background was in the sciences.

“I wanted to be in administration because I enjoy operations and instilling efficiencies,” he said. “Five years down the road, I want us to be a district where people want to send their kids. I want us to be a district where people want to work, where teachers want to be and where their job is their passion. The work we do every day is so important. We have a very good school district here, and we want to make it great.”