decorahnews.com feature: Decorah Middle School Principal Justin Albers is gearing up for the first day of school

Decorah native Justin Albers has been on the job at Decorah Middle School since July. He and his wife Lindsey, who grew up in Anamosa, were married in June. Lindsey is currently employed at Spectrum.

Albers grew up in Decorah where he attended John Cline (K-3rd grade), East Side (4th-5th grade), the former middle school (6th--8th grade), which is now Carrie Lee and the high school.

Albers participated in football, basketball, track and field, baseball, band (through 8th grade) and sang in the choir at Decorah.

Albers shared a middle school memory he had growing up in Decorah. "I vividly remember during basketball practice in middle school, we would run the halls. We would run up and down the halls and the floor was pretty slick. On the last leg we would always get a running start on the bottom floor and slide as far as we could, doing a superman slide," said Albers.

He also remembers being in charge of the lights for the sixth grade operetta. "I'd always tell Mr. Beckman I was the best light technician the middle school had up to that point," teased Albers.

After graduating from Luther College, Albers student taught in the Twin Cities, where he appreciated the experience of being in a larger school district. Albers took his first job in Sheldon, Iowa, where he taught for seven years as a middle school social studies teacher, served two years as the 7th-12th grade activities director and two years as the high school assistant principal.  

Some of his current hobbies include golfing and being a Hawkeye fan. Albers shared, "We have season football tickets for the first time, so we'll enjoy cheering them on this year. Being closer to Iowa City was a perk for our move back, along with Decorah's commitment to education and community involvement."

Currently Albers and the middle school staff are getting things ready for the first day of school. Right now it's the basics, making sure the schedules are ready, that the kids know where they are going, the teachers know what they are teaching and the associates and paras know what classes they are in.

"Whatever we can do to put the needs of the students first, that's what it comes down to. I've told the staff, academically we have some bright students, we have to keep building so all of our students are performing at a high academic level," said Albers.

"We want all our kids to be involved. It's an extension of the classroom. We want our staff to support that and be willing to be an advocate for our kids to be involved, whether it's Math Counts, speech or Lego League. Some will be more geared towards athletics, fine arts or all of it. The idea is if we can find a niche for all our students, that's our goal," added Albers.

Albers summed it up by saying, "When they come to school, I want our middle schoolers to walk through the doors, walk our halls, and have a positive experience, that their teachers cared about them, that their peers got along with them for the most part and that they feel comfortable being themselves, being who they are. That's the end goal, that our kids to have a positive experience."