A three-pronged approach to success at Duncombe Elementary School was shared by Principal Ryan Flaherty at Monday’s Fort Dodge Community School District board meeting.

“We are going through an assessment by Leader in Me, a company that aids school-wide leadership development,” he said. “The Beacon level is something we are aiming at. If it would be accomplished, it would be big news.

“It’s part of looking intently at academics, leadership and culture,” he added. “We feel these are the main building blocks toward a successful school.”

Among the highlights in the process was an attendance rate of 92 to 93 percent in January, up from 89 percent a few years ago.

Also highlighted was how the fifth grade students have made strong improvements in literacy showing that they are ready for the transition to middle school through their growing and learning; and focusing on the annual ISASP (Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress) and those results.

“We’ll be able to tell a lot about how we are doing with ISASP,” Flaherty said. “We get our rating from Leader in Me in April, so we are hoping for good news.”

The board also discussed several action items. Following discussion of each, the group:

• Approved a five-year contract renewal for district-wide fiber services for wide area network connectivity.

• Approved AirCorps bid of $92,000 to update the district wide firewall equipment.

• Approved internet services for the central administration office and senior high through Fort Dodge Fiber. According to district IT Director Kevin Bailey, the cost will be $1,602 with internet speeds being bumped up from one gig to five gig.

• Approved Mediacom for internet services for the middle school and elementary buildings at a cost of $2,700.

• Approved AirCorps for new network switches for Butler Elementary School. “The equipment in place is older,” Bailey said. “We want to get Butler up to where the rest of the district is.”

• Approved Jensen Builders Ltd. of Fort Dodge as construction manager at-risk for the bond facility improvements at the high school.

The board also approved the January 2026 financial reports. According to district Executive Director of Financial Services Brandon Hansel, revenue was $24.2 million with expenditures at $23.7 million.

“We are on the right track financially, as we continue through 2025-26,” he said.

The board was also visited by Mike Weddell of the Fort Dodge Senior High Alumni group. He told them that they are wanting to hear from teachers if they have classroom needs during the year.

“We recently assisted the theater department with an expense for storage items for just over $702,” he said. “We don’t have a large amount of finances to work with, but we could help if something smaller is needed.”

Weddell also shared that the group puts out a newsletter three times a year and also sponsors the district’s Visiting Author program and a scholarship to Iowa Central Community College as part of its contributions.