Sioux City, Iowa – The Sioux City Community School District has announced Dr. Rod Earleywine and Dr. Geovanny Ponce as the final two candidates for the District’s superintendent position.
Earleywine currently serves as the interim superintendent of Sioux City Community Schools, a role he assumed in July of 2022. Prior to that role, Earleywine served as superintendent of schools for Sergeant Bluff-Luton Community School District. During his time at Sergeant Bluff-Luton, the District was one of two Iowa high schools named as a 2018 National Blue Ribbon High School of Excellence, expanded opportunities for students to earn college credits through concurrent enrollment and advanced placement, and increased the number of career pathways for high school students.
Prior to his superintendent role at Sergeant Bluff-Luton, Earleywine served as the District’s middle school principal. His educational experience also includes teaching high school social studies and elementary physical education and coaching at the high school level.
Earleywine holds a doctorate in educational administration from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, South Dakota; a specialist degree in educational administration and a bachelor’s degree in education from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and a master’s degree in educational administration from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, Iowa.
Ponce currently serves as assistant superintendent of high schools for the Houston Independent School District. Under his leadership, the District has implemented campus support plans to increase post-secondary opportunities for students, increased student industry-based certifications, and improved campus graduation rates in schools across the Houston Independent School District. During his tenure, the District has been recognized by US News and World Report as having some of the nation’s top high schools.
Prior to his current assistant superintendent role, Ponce served as an area superintendent and middle and high school principal in Houston. He began his career as a campus curriculum technologist and bilingual teacher, also in Houston.
Ponce holds a doctorate in public school administration from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas; a master’s degree in educational administration and supervision from the University of Houston in Houston, Texas; and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the National Autonomous University of Honduras in Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
The public is invited to hear from the superintendent candidates during separate community forums on Wednesday, January 25 in the media center at North High School, located at 4200 Cheyenne Boulevard in Sioux City. Earleywine will be present for questions from 5:15 pm to 6:30 pm; Ponce will be present for questions from 6:45 pm to 8 pm.
The public may also watch the community forums via Microsoft Teams. The link will be available on the superintendent search section of the District's website ahead of the community forums.
Facilitated by executive search firm GR Recruiting, the District’s superintendent search began in the fall of 2022 with community surveys, followed by in-person input sessions with district staff, students, and the public. The Board of Directors of the Sioux City Community School District is expected to announce its selection of the District’s new superintendent in late January or early February.
The new superintendent will assume his position for the 2023-2024 school year.