Mathew Futch
Staff Reporter
Every day, we walk around our beautiful campus and ignore the staff who work behind the scenes here at Ironwood. This week, Mrs. Gronewold, our Principal Secretary up in the front office is our staff of interest!
Mrs. Gronewold was born and raised here in Arizona and has been working in the Peoria Unified School District since 1998. She started working at Ironwood in 2012 and has had three kids graduate from Ironwood. Mrs. Gronewold handles the Ironwood budget for the school, purchasing supplies and equipment for school accounts.
When asked why she came to Ironwood in an interview she said, “It's just better here,” she has been used to the environment and, in fact, her husband worked here before her so she knew how wonderful the students and staff are. Mr. Gronewold recently retired after twenty years of working.
As for why she enjoys her job and what the positives of it are, she stated the staff are very kind as the students are very respectful- overall a great place to be. When asked about the challenges she answered, COVID-19 has caused many money issues, finding coverage for teachers for weeks on end can cause many issues. “Not many subs are wanting to sub for the teachers, as a teacher usually goes when they have been exposed themselves.” she said.
When asked how long she plans on continuing she says, “I really don’t know, I really do enjoy being here but I am also the main source of income between me and my retired husband.” she giggled. “As long as I retire with this I’ll be happy.” When asked what she plans to do once she retires, she claims that she wants to enjoy her retirement and hang out with her family overall, as well as be a part of her grandchildren's lives. Along with that she also wishes to travel and explore what the world has out there to offer.
Mrs. Gronewold has three children and four grandchildren. She states that all of her kids are successful, which she is very proud of. Now they work as a teacher, a realtor, and a nurse. She stated that she loved when she went to the football games with her kids when they were school. On top of her kids she also has two rescue dogs that she loves deeply.
To come to a conclusion with this story, Eagles Eye’s would like to thank Mrs. Gronewold for all the hard work she has put into the school! She has been taking care of Ironwood even in its hardest times. We hope she will be able to enjoy her years here at Ironwood as we know she will continue to put in some impressive hours to make things happen.
Image Credit: Mathew Futch
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