T-R PHOTO BY ROBERT MAHARRY — Class of 1990 Grundy Center High School alum Ann Lebo, who previously taught and served as high school principal with the district before spending nine years working for the state of Iowa, has returned to her alma mater as the new superintendent effective July 1.

GRUNDY CENTER — Few people are more connected to the Grundy Center community and school district than Ann Lebo, the daughter of a former teacher and niece of a former high school principal who graduated from GCHS in 1990, returned as a teacher and then served as high school principal until departing for a trio of state jobs — including a stint as the director of the Iowa Department of Education from 2020 to 2023. Now, the proud Spartan is coming home once again to lead the district as its superintendent, starting the new journey on July 1.

“I think even when I left to start working for the state, I lived here the whole time. That was kind of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but I think at some point, I knew I’d always want to come back. And this just felt like the right time,” she said. “So it’s been really great for me and my family, and the community’s been amazing. It really does just feel like being home.”

After spending about 3 ½ years as the executive director of Iowa Board of Educational Examiners, Lebo took on the leadership role at the Iowa Department of Education in March of 2020 — the exact month when the COVID-19 pandemic made its way to the U.S. and closed down schools across the state. In 2023, she took on a new state role as the performance results administrator for Early Childhood Iowa.

Lebo feels that she benefited from gaining a statewide perspective on education through her previous jobs, and she hopes to put those lessons to work in Grundy Center as she fills the position that came open after the retirement of former Superintendent Robert Hughes.

“It gave me perspective on what’s possible and also what’s fantastic about where I am right now. And so bringing both of those perspectives back, I think, will be helpful,” she said.

As a parent of two children who have already graduated from GCHS and one who is set to next spring, Lebo has watched the district through that lens and the state lens, and one of her first orders of business thus far has been to meet individually with each staff member to assess what they’d like to keep doing and what they’d like to see changed.

“I can have all the ideas that I want, but if they aren’t what’s right for this school and this community right now, I want to make sure those really match and that we’re moving forward in the right ways,” she said.

Last Wednesday morning, she hosted her first Community Conversation event at the Natural Grind coffee shop, and Lebo is looking for feedback from staff, students and the public on shaping the future of the district. Compared to other rural schools, Grundy Center’s enrollment has held relatively steady in recent years, and she is also working to assess the state of the district’s facilities.

“They’ve made a lot of changes to the facilities. I think there’s probably still some work to be done, but before we take any major steps, I want to make sure they’re the right ones,” she said.

Although she isn’t sharing any major proposals or action plans just yet, Lebo is doing her best to listen, be present in the community and develop and expand learning opportunities for students. With her deep maroon and white roots well-established, she’s excited to be back at her old stomping grounds leading a new generation of Grundy Center students.

“I’m about as Spartan as it gets, absolutely,” she said. “I think we have a great community, and I’m just really looking forward to things we can do. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if anybody has any questions.”

She can be reached at alebo@spartanpride.net.