"I've had 14 wonderful years here," Schutte said "I still think this district is one of the best districts in Iowa to work and certainly one of the best districts to live."
Just like Schutte, his father was also involved in education. Schutte said he never publicly claimed that he desired to follow his father's footsteps, being that he initially wanted to study law after graduating from Marshalltown High School in 1981, however there was something about education and working with young people that intrigued him.
"I've always had a passion or desire to work with kids," Schutte said. "From a very young age I was involved in doing things back in my home community of Marshalltown helping officiate youth sports events, being involved in our local YMCA and a young, adolescent group or club where we would help mentor younger kids."
After graduating from Central College with a bachelor's degree in American and world history, a minor in physical education, and endorsements in political science and coaching, Schutte began the first 10 years of his career within the Clinton Community School District.
While in Clinton, he taught seventh- and eighth-grade history and social studies. He also coached sports at a multitude of levels, as the ninth-grade football coach, an assistant varsity football coach, eighth-grade boys basketball and seventh- and eighth-grade girls track.
Though he served as an assistant principal in Clinton, while teaching at the middle school level he felt there was a great opportunity to make a positive difference in the lives of kids who were coming out of childhood and entering adulthood.
"When I first went in, my vision was I wanted to be at the high school because I desired to coach at that level," he said. "I just fell in love with that age group. It was so spontaneous and full of energy."
While in Clinton, after two to three years, Schutte and his wife, Conny, had their first daughter, Marie. Aside from beginning a family life, he began to serve many different leadership roles within the school, and his colleagues encouraged him to look into administration.
With the encouragement from his peers, Schutte earned his master's degree from Western Illinois University in 1988 for the purpose of receiving a superintendent's endorsement and to simply further his education.
"I found a lot of classes I took actually served me well in the classroom," he said. "It allowed me to have a better understanding of the bigger picture of how the school operates."
After serving as an assistant principal for three years in Clinton, Schutte's mother and father, who lived in Marshalltown, began battling health issues, making family support a necessity. With the principal's position opening at Boone Middle School, it made sense to return to central Iowa.
When Schutte arrived in Boone in 1995 as middle school principal, the junior high school was within the current Boone High School building and the district was looking to change from a junior high philosophy to a child-centered collaborative middle school program; the same sort of transition Schutte had experienced while working in Clinton.
Within two years, the district successfully transitioned to a middle school concept, which isolated middle school students from high school students with little to no interaction between the two age groups, which Schutte said created a large degree of positive changes for students and staff.
Schutte noted that when he first came to Boone, there were many 20-plus year veterans comprising the district's staff. Over the years, he said 50 percent of staff members have had master's degrees, which is rare in a district the size of Boone. With Boone's proximity to Iowa State University and Drake University, many educators have taken advantage of the opportunity to pursue higher education.
"When I came on here in 1995, I was like the second youngest on the staff. It was a very veteran group," he said. "That's one of the things Boone really can pride itself on is that we have an extremely well-educated staff."
Another advantageous aspect of Boone is the fact that many staff members generally make long-term commitments to the district.
"The other thing that bodes well for Boone is that Boone is a district and community that is very desirable location for people to live and raise families," Schutte said. "More times than not, when people come here or when we hire them, they're here for their career."
Schutte said that parents want to become involved in their children's education, which is another huge selling point for the district.
"The nature of our kids is just tremendous and the parental support has been very good," he said. "I'd put Boone up against about anywhere in terms of parents' sincere desire for the best for their kids as far as education and their future."
Throughout his tenure in Boone, Schutte said community members and parents have pulled together for the success of students. Students and staff have also demonstrated the positive culture that the district upholds when representatives from the Department of Education visit the district.
"Every time we have a site visit, every five years when the state comes in, one of the first things they talk about when they go out is how pleasant and welcoming both our students and staff are," he said.
At the age of 46, Schutte's 14 years in Boone constituted nearly one-third of his life. During that time frame, he and his wife have raised two children within the Boone community.
"It has been a wonderful 14 years for my family and I," he said.
After arriving in '95, his oldest daughter, Marie, was in 6th grade at United Community School and his youngest daughter, Maggie, was in preschool and is now a senior at BHS.
Marie, a 2002 graduate of BHS, lives in Chicago and is currently employed as a regional representative for Cornell College. Maggie will graduate from BHS at the conclusion of the school year and intends to attend Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo. where she will pursue a degree in sciences, speech communications or optometry. There, Maggie will also be a member of the Bulldogs' tennis program.
"We wouldn't change it. We wouldn't change one bit of it," Schutte said. "It's been a great educational experience for them and the Boone schools have provided them with the opportunity to follow whatever their dreams have been, both academically and extracurricular-wise."
For Schutte, raising a family in Boone was a comforting experience. The community was positive, safe and displayed a sense of togetherness.
He also said the close proximity to Des Moines and Ames offers residents a chance to go from the small town atmosphere to the larger metropolitan areas.
"It's kind of the best of both worlds," he said. "It's a small town-type environment for living, yet all the conveniences and interests you would find in the larger metropolitan situations are within short driving distance."
While there have been many accomplishments within the district during Schutte's time, he remained modest, stating that many of the successes have been accomplished alongside colleagues.
"Certainly I have had a tremendous amount of opportunity for personal and professional growth while I've been here," he said. "My colleagues that I've worked with - everyone from the support staff through the administration team - any successes we have had have come from efforts on all of their behalves."
The district's board of education has also played a significant role in moving the district in the right direction, Schutte said.
"The school board has been tremendous," he said. "They have very open minds and they are willing to look at all the different sides of issues."
Being involved in the community provided him an opportunity to get to know individuals on both a personal and professional level. While in Boone, Schutte has served on the Civil Service Commission, the Knights of Columbus, the Boone Rotary Club, the Boone Area Chamber of Commerce as an ambassador, the Des Moines Area Community College Foundation Board and the Boone County Historical Society Board. As superintendent, he feels it is important to be invested in the community and at the same time the community should be involved with the school district, which he said will be one of his focuses when moving to the Bettendorf area.
"I think in my current position, as well as an administrator, it is critical to be involved and invested in the community," he said.
For many professionals involved in education, when potential career advancement comes along, it is often hard to turn them down. In fact, such opportunities only come up once or twice throughout any individual's career, he said. A positive community and a commitment towards quality education are some of the primary reasons Schutte accepted the Bettendorf position. There, he hopes to find the same professional and personal satisfaction that he gained from working in Boone.
"Obviously Bettendorf, like Boone, has a tremendously positive reputation and their ability to provide high quality education, as well as extracurricular opportunities, for their students," he said.
Schutte said the most meaningful accomplishment during his time in Boone was when he started as superintendent in 2005. During that time, he said not as many people were invested in the mission of the school district.
In response, a community forum was held and nearly 200 people attended and input from students, staff, community members and business partners helped shape the vision of the district with commitments to student achievement, staff development, infrastructure and facilities, general climate and character of the district, community involvement, as well as making a more concerted effort to fill the needs of students who were struggling.
Since his time in Boone, Boone Middle School now operates in its new facilities on First Street and when he first arrived, the idea of a new middle school seemed to be out of the picture.
Huge advancements in technology throughout the district have also been made. Grants from the Leonard Good Foundation, Boone County FORCE, and Sen. Tom Harkin have assisted technological and infrastructure improvements at BMS, as well as Page, Franklin and Bryant Elementary Schools.
In addition, there were major renovations made to the science labs at BHS and a Safe Routes to School grant with $100,000 worth of sidewalks to better connect walking and biking paths to schools within the community is currently underway.
Significant issues facing the district are limiting unnecessary operating expenses, which could potentially cause Bryant and Lowell Elementary Schools to close. Such closures would call for expansion projects at BMS and Franklin Elementary School and would also realign grade levels to specific buildings within the district.
"Because of the statewide penny and what further leverage that is going to provide us as far as bonding capacity, we can, in a pretty quick fashion, better utilize our existing facilities and particularly our best facilities," Schutte said.
Carrying his experience and fond memories from the Boone area with him, Schutte will begin his new position in Bettendorf July 1. A search for his successor has already begun, with Johnston-based G. Tryon and Associates conducting the applicant search with plans to announce a new superintendent April 30.
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