Harris-Lake Park school district has new administrative team

The Harris-Lake Park Community School District has announced its new district administrative team, effective July 1, according to a district press release.

Mike Thompson has succeeded Gary Richardson as district superintendent. Thompson brings 25 years of experience in education to the position, most recently serving as elementary principal at Harris-Lake Park for three years.

Prior to H-LP, Thompson started his teaching career as a 5th-12th grade social studies teacher and coach at Ventura Community School District in Ventura, Iowa, followed by eight years as elementary principal and curriculum director at Belmond-Klemme CSD.  Additionally, Thompson has served in various information technology (IT) leadership positions for school districts in the north Iowa area.

Succeeding Thompson as the PK-5 elementary administrator is Rebecca Matthiesen. While Thompson will retain some elementary administrative duties, Matthiesen will manage the day-to-day operations of the building as well as evaluative responsibilities. Matthiesen just completed her fifth year at Harris-Lake Park, where she has served as a third-grade teacher, STEM instructor and elementary instructional coach. Prior to H-LP, Matthiesen served as an education coach at Upper Des Moines Head Start as well as a teacher with Okoboji CSD. 

Greg Hiemstra will be assuming the role of Director of Teaching and Learning. He has been at Harris-Lake Park for the past seven years, serving as the Middle School/High School Principal. Hiemstra previously taught social studies and coached at Garner-Hayfield-Ventura, and he also served as the Dean of Students / Activities Director at Howard-Winneshiek CSD.