Superintendent: Visionary Change Agent or 'Frightening' and 'Dictator-Like'?

There are two very different pictures of Cedar Falls Superintendent Mike Wells.

There is the picture of a widely beloved, visionary leader who inspired 100 sign-waving parents and teachers to give him a standing ovation at the Feb. 27 school board meeting where he was pushed to resign.

Then there is the picture of a man some school board members apparently had difficulty working with. The man who “failed to maintain the confidence of the board,” as the motion to not renew his contract stated.

School board members have been largely silent on what, exactly, prompted them to conclude the first-year superintendent should not be retained after his contract expires June 30. Their decision came after a number of closed-session performance review meetings, which are confidential under Iowa law.

However, a series of emails Patch obtained from the Cedar Falls School District under the Iowa Open Records Law begin to paint a picture of what went wrong.

In January, Wells sent a "reflection survey" to all of the school district's staff, including teachers, support staff and administrators, to get their feedback on his performance.

In a Feb. 21 email to school board members, he shared 14 pages of results of the survey. He said he compiled the responses, word for word, and did not leave out any comments.

The responses, submitted to the board without the names of the responders attached, vary widely and depict a district both hungry for change to move Cedar Falls schools forward and nervous about the breadth and swiftness of the changes Wells proposed. In his first year on the job, initiatives he has pursued include rebuilding or renovating the high school, beginning bi-lingual education at the elementary level and a possible student-exchange trip with China. He has also talked up academic career academies and plans for one-to-one technology, among other things.

Many of the responses to the survey are glowing endorsements of Wells and his plans. Multiple people described his as "approachable" “personable” and "visible". Many praised his wide-reaching vision:

"I really appreciate all of the new ideas you have brought to the district. It's great to see the school district moving in new directions!"

“Aggressive plans for things that need to change, willing to tackle tough times. Willing to push forward and think outside the box.”

“I really appreciate how you don’t seem to be afraid of making big decisions not everyone will like, like building a new high school.”

“I love that we are starting to see action on things. Right or wrong, let’s talk about it and make a decision.”

“You are moving the district forward, which is much needed and appreciated by many… Thank you for listening to staff and valuing their input.”

However, others said he was going too far, too fast. Their message? Change is not bad, but it needs to be more measured. Some of the criticisms were mild admonitions:

“Enjoy your energy and feel supported. Slow down a bit.”

“I love all of your ideas. My fear is we are doing so many new things.”

“You have many good ideas but they seem overwhelming.”

Others went farther, even calling Wells “dictator-like” and “frightening”:

“While I have only met you twice, I am not sure I like you as an administrator. Maybe as a person, but not as someone I trust the future of my job or my child’s education to. If you would slow down and not try to be the savior of Cedar Falls Schools in two easy years or less, I might change my mind. Your enthusiasm is contagious, your impulsiveness is frightening.”

“You are too dictator-like. While you profess to have meetings to listen to all sides of the situation, you don’t actually listen. You have your opinions and don’t really consider the experts’ view… The appearance that you have come to Cedar Falls to get things done and crossed off your bucket list without thoroughly thinking everything through. You seem in a big hurry to make changes… When a new superintendent was hired, we hoped for someone who would take his time making decisions before implementing new procedures; I don’t believe we’ve found the right person yet.”

A few offered advice for how Wells could alter his style to implement change with more broad-based support:

“Take the time to understand the district at a high level (seek first to understand). Develop strong relationships with your team; begin with district office and administrative council. Focus on the things that matter most – as a shared vision.”

“During my administrative course, this comment from professors seemed to become embedded in my thoughts… ‘During your first year of administration… treat it as a year of listening, watching, meeting, assessing and learning. You need to listen, watch, meet, assess and learn about your new community, district, co-workers and employees, before you can make plans to change structure, curriculum, initiatives and the general flow of things."

School board members, the emails show, were not necessarily against the changes Wells was pushing for. Work on the high school project continues to move forward, for example. What board members may have had problems with, like many of the critical survey respondents, was the pace of change and a lack of discussion of possible changes.

On Nov. 5, board member Jenny Leeper emailed board members Dave Williams and Jim Brown:

"Hey guys… I wanted to kind of feel you out in regard to Mike’s request for feedback on the China exchange program… At this point, though I support the concept, I’m not in support of the district pursuing this program this year (maybe next year, pending progress on our higher priority – HS facility, technology, PLC (professional learning communities), Leader in Me – items?)…"

On Dec. 17, she wrote to Wells, expressing concern for his plans to participate in a planning meeting for the Chinese exchange program, before the school board had fully gotten on board with the plan:

"By having the superintendent featured so prominently in the launching of this initiative, I feel it lends credibility to the program (which I don’t feel has been earned yet) and gives the false impression to parents and community members that we, as a district, fully support and give our stamp of approval to the project."

Wells responded to Leeper but still attended the meeting. The proposed exhange program has since moved to the background.

Wells was also working alongside Iowa Sen. Daryl Beall (D-Fort Dodge) on a World Language Bill submitted to the Iowa legislature. The bill would create funding for a pilot program to introduce foreign language at the elementary level, possibly starting in Cedar Falls with the eventual goal of expanding those efforts statewide.

On Feb. 14, school board president Deon Senchina wrote her apparent approval of the initiative:

"Thanks for working on this bill Mike. Without your vision and contacts CF would never have even been aware of the possibility for revenue to get us into foreign language k-6."

However, a Feb. 18 Cedar Falls Times article in which Wells discussed the bill and its possible implications apparently irritated board members, as Williams wrote to Wells on Feb. 19:

"I just read the article in the CF Times. The timing is going to be damaging. This is an example of one of the behaviors that has you in hot water. The topic of the Times article might be as clear as day in your mind, but it's muddy as hell to everyone else..."

The next day Wells emailed the entire board clarifying several points in the article, which he said dealt with possibilities presented by the bill, not necessarily the exact details that would be implemented in Cedar Falls. He also said the article had a few problems, including mentioning a Career Academy that he had not connected to the World Language Bill. That Career Academy was one the concerns Williams raised in his email to Wells.

A "Cedar Falls World Language Program" meeting was originally scheduled for discussion by the board on Feb. 27, but was cancelled. Instead, Feb. 27 was the night Wells resigned.

This is the final story in a three-part series based on 1,000 pages of emails provided to Patch by the Cedar Falls Community School District.

Read parts one and two:

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