“It’s not about me — There’re a lot of great administrators that need support, a lot of teachers that need to have conversations. They’re the ones doing the work.”

Before his interview for the superintendent position at the Ames Community School District, Scott Grimes was listening to the song “The Greatest Show” from the 2017 musical The Greatest Showman.

A rally cry opens the song, full of energy and excitement, where the “impossible comes true.”

Once he got the job, it became the theme song for his first year in the role.

“It’s not me being the greatest showman. It’s about helping everybody become who they are,” Grimes told the Ames Voice. “If you know the movie, it’s about being unique.”

Grimes’ philosophy of being a public school administrator follows the same tune: He aims to be approachable and make sure educators and students alike have the resources they need to do their work, to make the “impossible come true.”

Supporting Role: Grimes has found that being in the role of superintendent allows him to support others.

“There’re a lot of great administrators that need support, a lot of teachers that need to have conversations. They’re the ones doing the work,” he said. “I need to ensure that they have what they need to do their work. Sometimes, I look at it from the standpoint of ‘My job is to remove the hurdles as an administrator so others can do their job.’”

There has been a recurring issue of administration turnover over the years, Grimes said. This year, however, no administrators are slated to leave the school district’s directory.

“I don’t think [the school board members] remember the last time all the administration came back district-wide, as well as building… so that was always a goal of mine,” he said. “You have got to maintain administration. They need to be supportive of teachers. Teachers need support so they can support kids.”

First-year selfie: Grimes began his first year in Ames with a selfie with the Ames High School’s freshman class — now he’s continuing to work on building those moments with students and teachers by playing in the high school pep band and going to games and concerts.

“I’ve always said that, as an administrator, the majority of my job is to build relationships, communicate the strengths of the district, be there where needed and hopefully get everybody you know excited about public education and Ames,” he said.

3 decades of public education administration experience

Grimes, 55, has been in public education for 32 years and a superintendent in Iowa schools for 17. He received his undergraduate degree in ‘elementary education and teaching from the University of Iowa in 1993 and a masters degree in educational administration and supervision from Iowa State University in 2001.

He taught at his alma mater, Johnston High School, for eight years, and after receiving his master’s, was the principal of the Louisa-Muscatine Community School District from 2001 to 2006, then as the district’s superintendent until 2011 after receiving an Advance Study Certificate from the University of Northern Iowa in 2010. Grimes then served as superintendent of the Dallas Center-Grimes Community School District, where his children went to school, from 2011 to 2023.

“Every job I’ve had, I’ve been within five minutes of my job or lived in the community, mainly because my kids went to that district,” Grimes said. “I always felt if my kids were in the district, I was going to be an administrator there with them until they all graduated.”

After the Perry School shooting in January 2024, Grimes stepped into the role of a recovery support administrator, where he learned how important it is to have a system that can make it through challenging times.

“My experience really reinforced the importance of having strong safety protocols in place, as well as the reality that things can change in the blink of an eye,” he said. “It’s essential to build a system that can adapt and rally through both the good times and the challenges.”

Now marking the end of his first school year with the Ames Community School District, Grimes is ready to continue the work he has come here to do.

“The honor to be part of what Ames has contributed in the state of Iowa has excited me to continue to do what I can to help others do their job for this school,” he said.