Kirschbaum ready to embrace new opportunity

Bob Kirschbaum, a 32-year educator, 26 of which have been spent as an elementary principal, is leaving Spencer at the conclusion of the first semester to begin a new opportunity with the American Red Cross. (Photo by Michael Fischer)

Bob Kirschbaum, who's also known as Mr. K, isn't viewing Dec. 23 as an end or a goodbye.

Instead, the retiring Spencer Assistant Elementary Principal sees it as an opportunity.

"People have talked about me retiring and I say, 'I'm really not retiring. I'm graduating from the schools and now going out to the real world and getting a job,'" he said with a smile while seated in his office at Lincoln Elementary this week.

While Kirschbaum, 57, has accepted a new job with the American Red Cross office in Sioux City, he readily acknowledged that Spencer will always hold a special place in his heart as tears welled in his eyes.

"Instead of seeing life as a problem, life is full of opportunities. And that's the way I'm looking at this retirement," he said.

Known to dress in costume and perform magic tricks at school, Mr. K is a firm believer in teamwork, optimism, caring, enthusiasm, character and perseverance. He also models the characteristic traits described and proudly mounted on his wall.

The cordial elementary administrator also believes that schools should be the friendliest place in the community.

"To me, love is spelled t-i-m-e. We have to give kids time," Kirschbaum said. "Kids also need to be motivated and inspired to do things, because with the right attitude, you can accomplish anything."

He continued, "To me, family always has to be No. 1. And that's what I try to instill in my teachers: We're a team and we'll cover for each other. And that's why in each of the buildings where I've been, you'll notice a big sign that says TEAM: Together Everyone Accomplishes More. That's a belief I have, and you can accomplish anything if you work together as a team."

The commited reading advocate, who strives to make the activity fun for students and teachers alike, has been a professional focus for Kirschbaum. Named Iowa Reading Administrator of the Year in 2001, Kirschbaum has also served as president of the Iowa Reading Association and was selected to represent elementary educators worldwide on the International Reading Association nominations committee.

Leaving a good legacy

Raised in Defiance, a town of 346 residents situated between Harlan and Denison, Kirschbaum graduated from a high school in nearby Irwin.

"Most everybody went to Harlan from Defiance when the school closed, but we lived in the Irwin School District. So I was able to go to Irwin and be a bigger fish in a small pond, and had some real opportunities there to play ball. When I graduated from high school, I said, 'There's no way I'm ever going to go to college.'"

After working at Farmland Foods' pork plant in Denison for three years, Kirschbaum changed his mind and decided to take advantage of a baseball scholarship to Morningside College in Sioux City. During Kirschbaum's junior year, he married his wife, Sharon. The newlyweds served as house parents for the girls' dorm at Briar Cliff College, where she was enrolled as a senior. The following year, the couple were named house parents for the fraternity complex at Morningside. Kirschbaum graduated with honors, winning the Scholar Athlete Award.

During his six-year tenure as a Lawton-Bronson teacher, Kirschbaum also served as head coach in three sports. He and Sharon, who chose to leave her position as head of the cost accounting department for Terra Chemical in Sioux City in order to start raising their family -- which today includes Nicole, a dentist in Oregon; Michelle, a physician assistant in Denver; Stephen, a student and basketball player at Minnesota State University; and Michael, a junior in high school -- during this time. It was also when Kirschbaum decided he could touch many more lives being an administrator than he could as a teacher.

He earned his master's degree through Drake University and took a job closer to home in Dunlap.

"I was a principal at Dunlap for 10 years, but the last seven of those years I was shared between Dunlap and Logan-Magnolia," he recalled. "I also was a head coach in two sports, girls track and girls softball, while I was doing that."

"I think change is constant in education," he added. "I see some of the same things happening now that happened in the early 80s when I was a principal. We lived through the farm crisis and budget restraints and at that time consolidation was a way out for the budget issues. That's why I became a shared principal; because it was a way that the districts could afford to keep a principal in their school that they shared."

After being asked to serve as a principal in Sheldon, a school that received national accolades for its parent and community involvement, for five years, Kirschbaum saw an opening in Spencer as another "real opportunity."

"I really always thought highly of Spencer," he said. "So, I took the job and came here in 1998."

Kirschbaum, meanwhile, has experienced a lot of change during his administrative time spent here. His first three years in the district, Kirschbaum served as principal of the Fairview and Jefferson school buildings, and went through the transition of closing Jefferson.

"Some of the things we did at Jefferson, I think, is a motto of the way it should be done. The way we worked with parents, teachers went out to the homes and had family visits before the school year. It was a model of what good education really should be," he said. "But, over the course of the years now, I've been a principal in every building -- including ones we don't even have anymore."

This marks the second year that Kirschbaum has served as the district's assistant elementary principal. While stationed in Johnson Elementary last year, he's found himself in a Lincoln Elementary office this school year.

"I really enjoyed my job last year because the part of the job that I loved I got to do, and that was working with people and working with the kids," he explained. "My role has been to work well with the people, the public, where Lucas (DeWitt, the elementary principal), is more the curriculum end of it."

While the husband and father of four admitted he's leaving with mixed emotions, Kirschbaum stated, "I've loved the opportunity to be here in Spencer. I hope I've touched a lot of lives in a positive fashion. I've had the opportunity to work with a lot of people from all different socioeconomic backgrounds, and I guess I hope that people would say it didn't matter who they were, I always gave everybody the same amount of time.

"I've also had the opportunity to work with some fabulous, loving, caring teachers. They're the kind of teachers you definitely would entrust your children and their lives to. ... And, I've never met a parent yet who doesn't truly love their kids. They all want what's best. That's why it's important for us to give them all time. ... But, most important of all, it's the kids. That's why we're in this business. I've worked with a lot of great kids in my years here, and those memories they'll never be able to take away."

Looking to the future

In his new job as a Regional Fund Development Associate for the Siouxland Area Chapter of the American Red Cross, Kirschbaum will be responsible for fundraising and public relation activities.

"I see it as an opportunity to meet a lot of people and to do good for society," he said. "What we want to do is get people thinking positively about the Red Cross and trying to make them realize that instead of waiting for a disaster to happen and then say, 'We need to give money to the Red Cross,' trying to get people in the frame of mind to be giving to the Red Cross as we go along. ... This is just a way that I can still work positively with people and continue to make a difference."

Kirschbaum, who will be allowed to work from his home when he isn't driving community to community and working with people, suggested he hasn't minded the 45-minute trek from his home in Sheldon to Spencer on school days. The time has allowed him to either prepare for the day or wind down from it mentally.

"No matter how good a day or how troublesome it could have been, I never took the job home," he revealed. "However, there was a price to pay for that drive. I spent an hour and a half of my day driving, so I didn't have time to go out and walk or exercise like I love to do. That's why I gained a lot of weight. But now when I walk out of my house, I will be on company time."

In addition to his new position, Kirschbaum said he'll also find time to continue his motivational speaking for different companies and schools, and working as a reading consultant. He's also planning to facilitate nine summer reading conferences, for teachers and presented by teachers and local authors, this summer.

* A come-and-go retirement, open to the public, will be held to honor Bob Kirschbaum from 3:45 - 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 17 in the Fairview Elementary library.

---

According to Mr. K's peers:

"Whether it be listening to parents, staff or students, Mr. K was always there to listen and help make the best of every situation."

-- Jared Davis, Fairview fourth grade teacher

"Mr. K was extremely effective with the students and families. If we, the teachers, needed any time or support, Mr. K was always ready and willing to help. He is a very compassionate and caring man."

-- Brenda Griffin, Fairview second grade teacher

"I have always seen Bob celebrating kids and their accomplishments. He has an enthusiasm that kids respond to. This year at Lincoln, Bob will stop in during morning citywide band rehearsals, greet the students and commend them on giving up their mornings to play in band. He also gives them an update on how they are improving. The students seem a little bit prouder of the work they do after he has spoken with them."

-- Janet Boyens, Elementary band instructor

"Mr. K has not only impacted the staff, but the students as well. Last week, a student brought treats for his birthday and said, 'Can I leave one in the office for Mr. K because I really like him?' Later that day, I was down in the office and saw the treat with a note attached. The student had written, 'Mr. K, I want you to have this because you are such a good guy.' What a smart fifth grader! I smiled when I read it because everybody knows Mr. K is a good guy!"

-- Alison Troxel, Fairview fifth grade teacher