New (and old) Lone Tree administrators would like to bid a hello. 

Tyler Hotz started his tenure as the district’s superintendent July 1. Business manager Shelia Tharp joined the team in March. Renae Williams has worked in the district for around nine years in various roles. All three will work together in tandem to keep Lone Tree functioning like a well-oiled machine. 

Tyler Hotz

Hotz is a familiar face. That’s because he’s from Lone Tree. Hotz graduated high school in 2006. He then attended the University of Northern Iowa (UNI), graduating in 2010 with a degree to teach math. He went back to UNI for his master’s degree in administration for principalship and an advanced study certificate before receiving his certification to become a superintendent last spring. Most recently, Hotz served as Mid-Prairie’s activities director.

Hotz is back home to make a difference. 

“For me, this is an opportunity to come back and kind of pay back what Lone Tree gave me when I graduated in 2006,” Hotz said. “I did feel ready and prepared for the next phase of my life. This is really for me to come back and pay back what

they gave me and helped me become who I am today.” 

Hotz’s dedication to creating a better learning experience stems from the “nostalgia” he feels from walking down the hallways and seeing familiar faces. 

“[It] still hasn’t fully hit me yet,” Hotz said. “There’s a sense of pride that I was a successful candidate and get to lead the district. Moving forward, it’s a place where I still have family. There’s a sense of responsibility and accountability for me, where I feel I need to do the best I can to help the next generation grow.” 

Throughout the lengthy interview process to secure the job, Hotz noticed a theme from board members, faculty, and the public: communication needed to be better. For Hotz, this is one of his main goals in year one, to increase the district’s communication with the public and within. 

Communication is just one of four main goals Hotz is working towards. He’d like to focus on finances, climate, and culture, things that Tharpe and Williams can help improve. 

“Those four things really came out to me [in the interview process],” Hotz said. “Just listening to people around me, those four things would seem to be the priority for me.”

One thing that makes Lone Tree special to Hotz and others is the fact it is a pre-K-12 all-in-one building that has small class sizes that can further engage learning on a more personal level.

“I know [from] talking to families, they feel like when they graduate from Lone Tree, they are ready for that next phase of their life, whether having college credits ready to go or school internship opportunities,” Hotz said. “Even though we are a small school, we provide a lot of opportunities for our kids. Having lived that myself, I guess that’s why I believe in that.”

Even though Hotz only has about two months of superintendent experience so far, his favorite aspect is the community building and the communication needed to build strong connections.

“That is a big part of my job, relationship building between the school, the community, the school board, the people in the building,” Hotz said. “Getting out and about [to] get to know people, that’s been the biggest benefit so far.”

Hotz hopes to use previous experience to grow as a superintendent. 

“I reflect to when I first started as a teacher and then when I started as principal, like that first day or month on the job, everything just seems spectacular because you don’t know what you don’t know,” Hotz said. “Having been through those experiences, I’m more prepared for the ever-changing process of being a superintendent, but there’s still a lot of things out there that I don’t know.”

“That’ll be the biggest challenge, just learning day by day, because when I get down within the end of this July, that’ll be my first July as a superintendent… it’ll just keep carrying over,” Hotz said. “[Next] summer will be awesome because we’ll know what we’re all doing. That’s the exciting part.”

The most important thing in Hotz’s life is his family. Hotz has three small children with his wife, Amanda. 

Shelia Tharp

Tharp was hired in March as the district’s business manager. Tharp relocated from Jesup, Iowa, to Lone Tree recently and is enrolling her two young children at the school. Her husband, Mikie, will join the Lone Tree family as well this coming school year as a para.

“I am committed to Lone Tree. Not only have I signed a contract,” Tharp said with a laugh, “we have moved down here. We as a family had decided that Lone Tree is the best place for us and that’s why we made that big decision.” 

Tharp’s dedication to the role comes with a sigh of relief from the administration at Lone Tree since the position has not seen consistency in recent memory. 

“I would say the district is strong in terms of finances and that money is available. The struggle is that there hasn’t been somebody long term in this position for over a year and a half,” Tharp said. “Just coming into that where there were multiple people doing multiple things and just trying to clean all that stuff up, and then have a process and procedures going forward is what’s taking some time.”

Despite the initial wall, Tharp enjoys her work and feels very welcomed at Lone Tree. 

“[I’m] in a unique situation myself being relatively new, having a new superintendent, making sure that we know how each other works, and then working collectively as a team,” Tharp said. “I think that’s really going to grow. And it’s scary, but it’s exciting at the same time. [We] all have long careers left. And actually, we could be here a long time with each other. I think that’s the goal for me.”

One of the main factors that helped Tharp choose Lone Tree as her next destination was the small class sizes that reminded her of her graduating class. Her two children are young, but she wants them to grow up in an area where they can build more personal connections with the community.

Renae Williams

It is easier to say what Williams does not do for the district. She started around nine to 10 years ago as a para. She bounced around a bit before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Then, Williams did some subbing before finding a home in the office. Her office roles are district secretary, administrative assistant, and school board secretary. She loves the flexibility and the spectrum of roles she plays at the school.

“It’s nice because, even last year, I would read to kindergarten like once a week. It’s nice that like, [I] have the opportunity, I can still go to get out and see the students but yet still just be helping the adults too,” Williams said. “I love going around doing my route in the morning to chat with everybody and knowing everyone more on a personal level and being able to help support them when they have questions.” 

The role of school board secretary was taken by Williams in February as another one of her duties when the former board secretary left the district.

“I kind of just stepped into the [board secretary role in February], I was just trying to jump in and help as much as I could to keep the office moving forward,” Williams said. “[I’ve been] kind of learning on the fly. And then when Sheila started in March, I’m like, ‘Yep, this is kind of what I want to do.’ I could tell already that we were going to work well together.”

Williams appreciates the challenge and would like to continue challenging herself with her job.

Williams is from the area. She attended Highland schools but her husband, Joe, was from Lone Tree, so Williams spent a lot of time there. The community is Lone Tree’s biggest strength, according to Williams.

“One thing that brought myself and my family to the district was the tight-knit community growing up here,” Williams said. “[The feeling that] everyone is willing to jump in and help anytime.”

Hotz, Tharp and Williams hope to keep learning and growing together, knowing that once they complete a full year together, things will only get easier, thus helping the district prosper.