Iowa City’s Matt Degner nabs National Superintendent of the Year honor
The Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD) has faced a number of challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, from student safety to school attendance and creating a sense of normalcy.
At the forefront of this fight was then-interim superintendent Matt Degner.
It’s official Full-time inspector in January 2021, Following Steve Murley’s resignation. And now, five years after his term ended, Degner’s leadership and innovative perspective in one of Iowa’s largest districts has earned him the K-12 Diving title National Inspector of the Year award.
Diving AwardsIt bases the award, distributed by an online publication honoring K-12 administrators and districts across the U.S., on excellence in “student achievement, holistic children’s programming, postsecondary pathways and community engagement.”
The Diving Awards also recognize Region of the Year and Manager of the Year.
Matt Degner, superintendent of the Iowa City Community School District (ICCSD), poses for a photo in front of the district’s Educational Services Center (ESC) at 1725 North Dodge Street in Iowa City, Iowa, on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020.
More: How is the Iowa City Innovation Center pushing kids into the future?
Diving Award honor came after Degner achieved a point Education Insider’s “Top 10 School District Superintendents” In October.
Dive cited Degner’s pandemic trajectory, noting that he has increased the district’s competitiveness among Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) and school choice vouchers and expanded pre-K and post-secondary opportunities. Degner runs Iowa’s second-largest district, behind Des Moines Public Schools, with more than 14,000 students in four high schools, 20 elementary schools and three middle schools.
“He will always give credit to the team around him because we all have to do the job we do,” Kristin Pedersen, the district’s general manager of public relations, said in a press release.
Reverse open enrollment losses by expanding preschool education
Iowa City Community School District’s enrollment dropped 189 students this year to 14,392 compared to the previous year, but enrollment has increased 2 percent since 2020.
The region’s approach? We are directly faced with declining enrollment rates through an “aggressive enrollment campaign.”
“We were losers in open enrollment,” Degner said in the news release. “We were losing students who chose to go to other school districts. And now we’re actually gaining from that number, where there are more students coming into our district than leaving.”
More: Johnson County and Greater IC join program to increase investment readiness
The community-wide campaign includes a robust preschool program offering full-day education in each of 20 primary schools, even though the state funds only half-day preschool education. The district offers free half-day kindergarten at all elementary schools and afternoon sessions at some. Many students can attend full-day kindergarten for free by qualifying for the Shared Visions Preschool program.
“We talk about this through the lens of capturing families and having a great first experience in our area and then choosing to stay with us,” Degner said.
Iowa City Community School District Superintendent Matt Degner and Eastern Iowa Junior Achievement President Christine Landa cut the ribbon on the Dream Accelerator at the district Educational Services Center on January 15, 2026 in Iowa City, Iowa.
Expanding postsecondary and community-focused mindsets
The district recently celebrated its opening. Innovation Center Strengthening community connection and student outcomes.
The Innovation Center is home to new Kirkwood Career Academy classes that “bring dual-credit career cadence directly to the field.”
In particular, the Innovation Center has a unique partnership with non-profit organizations Eastern Iowa’s Junior Achievement for the Dream Accelerator, the second of its kind. Dream Accelerator is a “hands-on, immersive career exploration experience” that helps develop financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and career readiness skills.
More: North Liberty approves plan for 96 apartments near new UI hospital
Degner has been with the Iowa City school district since 2013 and previously served as assistant principal and principal at Southeast Middle School.
Their connections run deep: Two of their children are currently enrolled in the district, and the other is an ICCSD graduate. Her husband, Dr. Kate Degner is a district teacher and adjunct professor at the University of Iowa.
“Matt has done much of this community relationship rebuilding by attending events, whether building-level PTO meetings or community-wide events,” ICCSD Board President Ruthina Malone said in the news release. “People saw more of him and were able to talk to him more about some of the things he and his staff were doing around the county.”
Jessica Rish is the entertainment, food and education reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. He can be reached at: JRish@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rishjessica_
This article first appeared in the Iowa City Press-Citizen: Iowa City’s Matt Degner named National Superintendent of the Year
