Clarke Community School District continues to bring on new leadership for the 2023-24 school year. As students prepare for their first days of the Fall semester, Mr. Cory Wenthe, will also be preparing for his first day with the district as Elementary Associate Principal.
Originally from Northeast Iowa, Mr. Wenthe comes to Clarke with more than a decade and a half of education and school administration experience. A graduate with an Elementary Education Degree from Upper Iowa University, Wenthe went on to get his Masters of Education from St. Ambrose in Davenport, Iowa in 2004.
From there, he taught at the elementary level at St. Patrick’s Catholic School in Perry for more than 7 years, returning as administrator for another 4-years before moving on to the public sector as a teacher at Woodward Academy. Eventually, he became President of the Woodward Academy board and serves in that position to this day.
Wenthe’s extensive teaching experience ultimately led to his roles in education administration where he was hired as Principal at Remsen Union in Western Iowa as well as Elementary Principal at West Central Valley in Stuart, Iowa.
In his most recent role, Wenthe spent 2-years as Special Education teacher at Goodrell Middle School in Des Moines.
“I’ve always thought my position in education was most impactful for students and my peers as an administrator,” said Wenthe. “When the opportunity to work with Jody (Kerchal) and the Clarke Elementary team came up, I was really intrigued.”
Wenthe went on to say, during the interview process, he immediately felt a camaraderie with the administrative staff and saw the path and the potential the Clarke district was taking. With the leadership and programming Kerchal had been implementing over the past few years, he saw his place helping build and amplify a culture and climate Clarke elementary students can thrive in.
Having just started full-time with Clarke in July, Mr. Wenthe has focused much of his efforts evaluating and implementing the Clarke Elementary MTSS (Multi-Tier Systems of Support) process with the teachers and administrative team. An educational MTSS is a framework for enhancing research-driven practices to help connect with each student at the level they’re on, benchmarking and mapping success paths to achieve better outcomes for students at all levels.
“The MTSS is a State implemented process that’s really seen broader student success,” said Wenthe. “As we develop benchmarks for Clarke and our students, we look forward to making great academic advancements across the board.”
Cory and his wife Jody live with their son Powell in the Des Moines area. There, his wife works as a Dental Hygienist with more than 25 years’ experience and their son will start high school at Prairieview in Waukee this week.
With the Elementary School open house taking place on Thursday the 24th and school starting this week, Cory and the team are looking forward to seeing their students and connecting with the community.