By Celine Klosterman
At June’s end, Terri Schofield will wrap up her sixth and final year as principal of Seton Catholic School in Ottumwa.
The school of 126 pre-kindergarten to sixth-grade students is seeking a new principal as she prepares to take a position in Centerville as principal of Lakeview Elementary, a school for fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders with 314 students. There, she will be part of an administrative team.
“We’re definitely going to be very sorry to see her go,” said Matt Heldenbrand, Seton Catholic School Board treasurer. “She was an amazing part of the success we’ve seen over the past six years.”
“It was a heartfelt decision,” Schofield said of choosing to make her professional transition. She said working at Seton has been enjoyable thanks in part to “excellent support from St. Patrick and St. Mary of the Visitation parishes in Ottumwa, and a thriving Home & School Association that makes our work much easier.”
A committee of school board members, teachers and parents will interview candidates for principal, she said. Mary Wieser, superintendent of schools for the Davenport Diocese, also will be involved. Ultimately, the school board will select a principal based on the committee’s recommendation.
Speaking on the school’s accomplishments under Schofield, Heldenbrand said teachers at local public schools often tell him students who graduated from Seton are easy to identify, thanks to their educational progress and behavior. He is a Hy-Vee store director who often communicates with public school teachers for the store’s school-promotional projects.
“The new principal will work with an outstanding group of teachers and a very supportive community that values the traditions our school is based on,” Schofield said. “Whoever takes this job will be very blessed.”
