Jeananne Hagen Schild (MA ‘78/EdS ‘85) continues to serve children with special needs and take on new challenges even in her last months before retiring.

The educator, who first served children as a special education teacher in Grinnell, took her final post before retirement as the interim superintendent at the Iowa Braille School in Vinton. She also worked as an associate administrator at the Grant Wood Area Education Agency (AEA) in Cedar Rapids until she retired from that position in December.

Colleagues at the Grant Wood AEA as well as the Iowa Department of Education, where Hagen Schild served as chief of the Bureau of Children, Family, and Community Services, say she will be remembered as a visionary leader who encouraged collaboration and changed the way educators meet the needs of special education students.

“She is extremely positive, innovative, and creative,” said Lana Michaelson, who took over Hagen Schild’s position at the Iowa Department of Education. “She’s always looking for a new and interesting way to do things. And she always keeps children the focus of her energies and does the right thing for them.”

Hagen Schild is now involved in a coordinating council that was formed by the Iowa Department of Education and the Iowa Board of Regents to “review all services that support the education of students who are blind or visually impaired, including those with additional disabilities,” she said. This discussion includes the future of the Iowa Braille School, where some 85 staff members serve 33 students, most of whom live on campus during the week and are bussed back to their hometowns around the state.

“What we’re trying to do is improve options for families and children,” Hagen Schild said. “Parents should not have to make a decision to bus their child halfway across the state to get an appropriate education.”

That means, Hagen Schild said, that the focus needs to be on how to support local school districts in serving visually impaired children, especially when districts may have only one or two students with those special needs. Hagen Schild said blind or visually impaired students represent only one in every 1,000 students in Iowa.

“Obviously when you have only one or two, you’re not going to have a lot of people with a great deal of experience serving blind and visually impaired children,” she said. “We need to build a system of support.”

Hagen Schild said some of the focus areas for serving blind and visually impaired students are improving literacy and independence as well as helping teachers to raise expectations.

“These children produce sympathy, so instead of holding them to high standards, people tend to be protective,” she said. “But as educators we can’t just write off students or excuse them and think we’re being nice by just sending them through.”

Ron Fielder, chief administrator of the Grant Wood AEA, said he’s long been impressed with Hagen Schild’s dedication to children and ability to visualize effective, efficient solutions to difficult problems.

“She is deeply committed to seeing that all children achieve their highest potential,” Fielder said. “She sees herself broadly as an education leader, not just a special educator. This view allows her to work in collaboration with others to meet the needs of all students.”

Bonnie Boothroy (BA ‘68/MA ’72/PhD ‘86), was one of Hagen Schild’s fellow associate administrators at the Grant Wood AEA. She said Hagen Schild is an “inspirational” leader.

“Jeananne is a collaborator who brings people together to solve problems and create new structures,” Boothroy said. “She is not afraid to tackle even the most difficult issues and is known as someone who approaches her work with honesty, integrity, and unwavering commitment to doing what is right.”

–by Heather Spangler