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Albert Lea Area Schools’ new interim superintendent gave an update on his first few days in the position Tuesday as he works to get to know the needs of the district.

Retired Austin Public Schools Superintendent David Krenz said last week and this week he has been meeting with staff, administrators and school board members.

On Monday he went to each of the schools during their staff development days and met with staff. He said he is excited to see all of the good work taking place.

“It’s not always easy to implement new programs and new mandates, but our folks through our leadership and their hard work are working hard to do the right things for our kids,” he said.

He recognized Jeff Jenson of Albert Lea High School and Staci Waltman, elementary media specialist, who were nominated for the 2024-25 Outstanding Educator Award presented by Southeast Service Cooperative’s STEM Forward.

He also highlighted students Gunnar Hardison and Nevaeh Wacholz as recipients of the prestigious Minnesota State High School League’s Academics, Arts and Athletics (AAA) Award.

He emphasized his belief in the importance of communication, whether that be legislative updates, national education updates, work being done to improve schools and communities.

“Anything that comes across my desk that helps us determine the direction that we want to go, you’ll be receiving,” he said. “And it’s not just the school board, but I’ll be sharing that with the principals and with the cabinet to make sure we’re all getting the information as we make our decisions. It’s tough to make quality decisions if we don’t have all the information.”

School board members also gave updates from the recent Minnesota School Boards Association Conference that they attended. Members said they attended sessions on topics including union negotiations, artificial intelligence, the use of cell phones, management, school policy, Robert’s Rules of Order, among others.

Board member Mary Jo Dorman, who attended her first session as a board member through the association, said one of the messages she heard from multiple sessions she attended was that there should be no surprises in communication between the superintendent and school board.

Several board members said in addition to the sessions they attended, they appreciated being able to spend more time with the board members and getting to know them better.

“I’m really excited about the direction we’re headed based on the conversations we had,” board member Kim Nelson said.

The board will meet again at 2 p.m. Friday in a special meeting for an initial planning meting for the search for a full-time superintendent.