After eight years at the head of the Perry Community School District, Superintendent Lynn Ubben will retire June 30, according to a message she sent to the district’s teachers and administrators Thursday.
“This is my 41st year in education,” Ubben said to the PCSD staff, “living in numerous communities in Iowa as I transitioned from teacher and coach to principal and superintendent. My husband and I have enjoyed each unique community and made many friends throughout the state.”
Ubben has led the Perry school system since the 2009-2010 school year. She previously served as superintendent at the Winfield-Mt. Union Community School District in southeast Iowa.
“Over the years, I have learned that people make the school and community a great place to live,” Ubben said. “When I think of the various communities we called home, I see faces of students, staff and community members, and I smile. It is no secret that I truly enjoy watching our kids excel and hope that I have made a difference.”
Ubben has made a big difference in Perry and throughout her career, at least in the opinion of the Iowa High School Athletic Directors Association, which awarded her their 2016 IHSADA Outstanding School Administrator Award last March in ceremonies in Coralville.
The IHSADA noted several improvements and achievements in the PCSD since Ubben’s arrival, in student activity programs as well as physical improvements in the district. It was noted that the Performing Arts Center was constructed during her ongoing tenure, that MUSCO lighting systems were installed at the Perry Athletic Complex on both the baseball and softball diamonds, and that the Perry Middle School gymnasium recently received a complete renovation.
“Lynn has been a big promoter of improving our facilities,” said Tom Lipovac, director of student activities and student services at Perry High School. “It is not hard to see the positive impact she has had.”
Lipovac, who has spent nearly 40 years on the faculty and staff of PHS, praised Ubben’s steady engagement with students, parents and the community.
“Lynn is a very visible presence and an unabashed supporter of Perry schools and our students,” Lipovac said. “You see her at all sorts of events, from sporting contests to band concerts and all sorts of other academic outings. It is not uncommon to see her volunteering to help out at any number of activities, and she takes so many photos of our kids at events and games that she is almost like a school photographer.”
Ubben graduated from Allison-Bristow High School in Allison, Iowa, in 1973 and from Morningside College in Sioux City in 1976 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and special education.
She later earned a master’s degree in learning disabilities from Northeast Missouri State University received an administrative endorsement in 1988 from Iowa State University and a Specialist in Education Administration endorsement in 1998.
Ubben did not specify her retirement plans, but she and her husband, Dave Ubben, have twin grandsons, twin grandsons, Jace and Zeke Norton, who will likely attract their share of attention.
“Thank you for all your support and encouragement,” Ubben told the schools Thursday. “Keep doing what you do best!”
