Written by: Tatum Petersen, Emma Soto, Hailee Woodhurst, Elijah Schmidt, Will Budde, Connor Budde
There is a new principal at Easton Valley Elementary. Austin Daniels started his career at EV on August 23rd. He is returning to the community, having been a former student of both East Central and Preston. Before coming to EV, Mr. Daniels worked at Perry CSD from 2017-2020, North Polk CSD from 2020-2022, and Maquoketa CSD from 2022-2024. At 30 years old, Mr. Daniels is the principal at Easton Valley Elementary.
Some things about Mr. Daniels’s home life are that he returned to the community with his wife, Stefanie, they also came here with a 10-month-old daughter named Josie. Besides those two, the family also has a dog named Ozzy, an Airedale Terrier/Corgi mix.
When asked why he wanted to return to the area, he stated, “I came to EV for a couple of different reasons. On a professional level it provided me the opportunity to be a building leader, which were my intentions when I completed my Masters program in 2021. On a personal level, it was an opportunity to return home to my family and serve the students and families of the communities I grew up in.” Mr. Daniels says he is looking forward to developing relationships with students, staff, and community members, as well as hearing the stories and understanding each other’s pasts and perspectives. One of the main goals Mr. Daniels has for this school year is to form a positive building culture. The other main goal of his is to implement the new literacy curriculum called Amplify CKLA. Mr. Daniels says that his favorite part of coming to school each day knowing what he does is important, meaningful, and makes and impact.