SUBMITTED PHOTO Marshalltown Learning Academy Principal Eric Goslinga is retiring from the district on June 30 after more than 25 years with Marshalltown Community School District. He has been the only principal at MLA since its inception and Goslinga’s work has had great impact on MCSD. Besides leading the alternative school through the years, Goslinga has taken on other activities, such as the 2022 chess tournament between administrators and students when he played against his son Daniel.

The Marshalltown Learning Academy (MLA) will bid farewell to the only principal the program has known — Eric Goslinga, who is retiring June 30.

Before getting a degree from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, S.D. and completing graduate degree at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., Goslinga, 59, lived in Hospers. After his post-secondary education, he went to work for the Marshalltown Community School District (MCSD) in August 1999 as an associate principal at Marshalltown High School. Then in 2008, MLA was created.

He said the concept of MLA, an alternative smaller setting school educating students who are freshmen through seniors, at the time was certainly unique. The launch and sustainment of MLA has been the highlight of Goslinga’s MCSD career.

“Around the state, and in education circles, MLA is well respected,” he said. “When people talk about quality programs around the state, they talk about Alta Vista and Dubuque. They talk about Cedar Rapids metro and they talk about MLA in Marshalltown. That’s very gratifying.”

According to Goslinga, the “secret sauce” to MLA is the staff, the people who have those daily interactions with kids. Those people must desire to be there, engage in the work and be good at it, because when someone is working with at-risk kids, the window of opportunity and the margin for error is small.

“Luckily, I’ve been surrounded by many of those folks,” he said.

One of the long-time staff members is Building Secretary Muriel Bryant, who has mixed feelings about Goslinga’s departure. Bryant has been at MLA for 12 years and finds the community perception of “that’s where the bad kids go” to be particularly funny. She has only seen one fight, and restraints have never been used. The impact Goslinga has had on the kids with the program he created at MLA has been enormous, according to Bryant.

She recalled one student who would have daily panic attacks, and Bryant would comfort the student until the attack ended. That student can now walk through the halls and participate in classes without any problems.

“She realized she was safe here and that we care,” she said.

Bryant has known Goslinga for more than 25 years, back from when she worked at the Boys and Girls Home and said she will miss him.

“This place wouldn’t be here if not for him,” she said. “This was his vision and he persuaded the superintendent back then and the school board, and basically created this dream. On the other hand, I’ve watched his children grow up and he needs time with them. I know how quick it goes.”

Establishing MLA

Launching MLA is something Goslinga said was exciting. Wanting to distinguish it from other schools, students are given the option of calling staff members by their first names, if they choose. Many MLA students call Goslinga “Eric.”

“It’s so kids view us as more approachable,” he said. “Some kids don’t choose to do that, and that’s fine, but it seems to simplify the communication and break down the communication barriers sometimes. It certainly has not led to mass chaos. They don’t respect our teachers less. It’s something we started back in 2008 and never really gone away from that.”

Goslinga said MLA has certainly proven itself by holding and maintaining standards, by going beyond just helping students graduate and encouraging them to engage with teachers and form a plan for life after high school.

“It was setting a new philosophy and a different way to do education, I think, was always the intent of the program,” he said. “If we just simply duplicated on a smaller scale what was happening in the conventional and traditional school, then there really wasn’t a reason for us to exist. We tried to forge a different path, to be more competency based, integrating more authentic, hands-on learning projects, applied learning. Project based learning was the path forward.”

Goslinga said they even added a virtual program, giving students the option to complete their schooling online. However, he said MLA remains a popular option for kids and families.

“Kids can come here and get a decent education, pursue a higher education from here,” Goslinga said.

Sometimes those students don’t see the potential in themselves, Goslinga said, which has been the biggest challenge in his career. They do not have a positive future outlook because of their circumstances or experiences, and believe higher education is for the other kid, he said.

“Over the span of 17 years, that challenge has been constant and remains very acute,” Goslinga said. “It’s a big problem, and working with kids to build those relationships and that trust to change their mindset is the biggest challenge people face here daily.”

Keeping a smaller student body is something Goslinga wanted to focus on, because if too many are enrolled, they lose the necessary personalization.

“When things are not working well in whatever setting you’re in, some of those professionals will offer MLA as an alternative or choice,” he said. “The profile of somebody who has come here has typically been, they’ve experienced some frustration, lack of success, anxiety in their previous setting, especially if it was a larger setting.”

Since 2008, the highest number of graduates was 46, and the average number has been around 20. Those graduations have produced some of the best memories of Goslinga’s career, he said, along with seeing those former students in the community.

Other focuses

Besides leading MLA, Goslinga has also taken on the task of helping homeless students.

“It’s always been heartbreaking to me in a country with the wealth and resources we have, that we still have individuals who we can’t appropriately shelter,” Goslinga said. “If we can get some case management and support to them and get them housed, it speaks better of us as a society.”

Not only did Goslinga conduct an annual count of the homeless student population, but he also ensured they had transportation to get to school. If a student became homeless while attending Fisher Elementary, for example, and they found temporary shelter on the opposite side of town, he said they would find a way to still get that student to Fisher so their education experience is not as impacted.

“That’s a big piece of what we do to help our homeless students,” Goslinga said. “We help with clothing. We have dedicated funds we have written grants for to secure necessary items. Special for homeless teens and teens who are couchsurfing, which is a big issue in Marshalltown, we have hygiene bags, clothing closets and ready-to-eat food items. We can’t fix all that ails them, but we can help fill in some of the gaps.”

Finding alternative pathways

Even though June 30 is Goslinga’s last official day, June 25 will be his last day of work. Saying there is a season for everything, he thought he would be emotional at the MCSD retirement recognition, but was not.

“Maybe it hasn’t hit me, or maybe I’m just ready for something else,” he said.

Goslinga, with his wife Kathleen and their two sons, Dalton and Daniel, said there are no formal plans for his retirement. Many retirees make travel arrangements, but Goslinga said his wife is not much of a traveler. However, after hitting retirement, he said he has always wanted to spend a week in Arizona to watch spring training baseball games.

Goslinga could see himself filling in for a MCSD teacher for an extended period of time but is not interested in subbing for a single day.

“I do have a lot of affection and affinity for Marshalltown schools, so I do want to continue to support the school system,” he said. “If I can do something to support the system, I will certainly consider that.”

Goslinga wanted to extend his thanks to Jerry Stephens, former MCSD administrator, for taking a chance and hiring him.

“I am very grateful to him for the opportunity,” he said. “He was a strong leader with a great moral compass, very good understanding of how schools work.”

Superintendent Theron Schutte said Goslinga has served MCSD well, even taking on the initiative as a successful grant writer of STEM Best Grants for MLA and of McKinney-Vento Grants for the homeless student population. He has also served as an at-risk coordinator and provided leadership and oversight for the Marine Cadet program.

“Eric has been a very forward-thinking leader with a personal passion for authentic learning, project-based learning, problem-based learning and work-based learning – all of which are very highly supported evidence-based teaching and learning practices for all students,” Schutte said. “I greatly appreciate his admirable service to our district.”

Goslinga said the district has found a replacement for him — Jordyn Terry — who will begin on July 1. He described Terry as very capable and is confident she will do well at MLA.

“Some fresh eyes on some problems and old challenges will be a good thing,” Goslinga said. “I hope MLA at a minimum is sustained. It’s had an immense impact on the students it has served, and I think fewer and fewer students’ needs are met by conventional systems. I think we need alternative pathways for students to graduate, especially in this area of free choice, charter schools and open enrollment. We need flexible pathways to serve the marketplace, which has changed and you have to change with it. Public education as a whole is like trying to turn an ocean liner. It moves slowly and is cumbersome.”

Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.