Kim Hurley is coming home to the Marshalltown School District. She spent the last six years working as a school improvement consultant at the AEA. Previously, she served more than two decades at Anson Elementary School, teaching fourth grade for 17 of those years, followed by six years as the instructional coach there.
Now, she’s returning to the district in first time roles: teaching second grade at Franklin Elementary and coaching high school girls cross country.
She spent her youth in Oelwein, graduated from UNI, and then got her first teaching gig in Ottumwa, instructing eighth grade algebra. She’s called Marshalltown home for the past 26 years.
“The primary area of focus for second grade is to make sure that they’re proficient in reading — really working on both the phonics and phonemic awareness so that students can develop vocabulary and be able to read more complex text,” Hurley said.
As for leading cross country, Hurley comes with an impressive resume. She has experience coaching middle school track and is an avid runner and racer herself.
“I’ve been a personal trainer and instructor at the YMCA for about 20 years,” she said. “I’m a certified health coach as well. So when this position came open, someone said I should apply, and I said I’d love to.”
Her work at the AEA helped her cultivate a broad view of educational needs and concerns. She served the following districts as a school improvement consultant: Marshalltown, East Marshall, South Hardin, Meskwaki, BGM, Montezuma, Grinnell and South Tama.
“The other two hats I wore were facilitating and heading mentoring and induction for all 53 school districts and 19 parochial schools,” she added. “I was also the instructional coach leadership facilitator for those. It was a lot of work but wonderful work.”
Hurley said she’ll enjoy being stationed out of one school building for the first time in years — paired with the fact her daughter Brittany Appelgate is the school nurse at Franklin, and she has a granddaughter about to start first grade there.
“There would be some days I’d be in four school districts…I’d leave at 5:30 in the morning and get home at 5:30 at night,” she said of her previous job. “This will be one room. It will be a transition.”
But she adds, she already knows most of the teachers at Franklin and has built a rapport.
“(Kim) came to us from the AEA and supported our district during her time in that role. She really wanted to stay with us because of our support and focus on students,” said District Director of Communications Abby Koch.
When it comes to cross country, Hurley said she looks forward to being a mentor to her athletes.
“It’s really fun to be able to influence them. It’s not just about running — it’s about making healthy choices and helping them learn how to eat and hydrate and sleep and all sorts of things,” she noted. “You want them to be well-rounded.”
Hurley said she’s eager to meet her second grade students on Tuesday and would like to also be seen as a resource for her co-workers. (Cross country practice has already begun).
“I am looking forward to meeting my students and really using my skill sets to help them reach their potential, and then also to bring the knowledge that I have from being a consultant to my colleagues and hopefully being just a strong team player to build the capacity of my team,” she said.