Rural Gladbrook resident and retired teacher Jennifer Wrage pictured while being administered the oath of office to the Gladbrook-Reinbeck Community School District Board of Education on Thursday, April 24, in the junior high/high school library. Wrage’s appointment fills a vacancy left in early April by Jordan Wentzien, also of Gladbrook. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

REINBECK – A familiar face to many in the Gladbrook-Reinbeck Community School District is now the newest addition to the school board.

Jennifer Wrage – a retired G-R teacher and rural Gladbrook resident – was appointed to the board during a special meeting held ahead of the regular meeting on Thursday, April 24, in the junior high/high school library. She was the only nomination received during the meeting; she was elected unanimously by a roll call vote. Following the vote, she was immediately sworn in and took her seat with the rest of the board.

Wrage’s appointment fills the director seat left vacant following Jordan Wentzien’s decision in early April to resign from the board.

According to a 2024 profile of Wrage published during her run in the Democratic primary for Iowa House District 53 (Rep. Dean Fisher’s seat), she retired at the end of the 2023-24 school year after spending 32 years as an educator. While at G-R, she served as a mentor teacher, on the School Improvement Leadership Team, and as the chief negotiator for the Gladbrook-Reinbeck Education Association. She also previously served on the district’s Community Facility Task Force.

In addition to teaching, Wrage has been a coach at both the junior and high school levels. She and her husband Nathan have two adult children and several grandchildren. The Wrages reside on an acreage northeast of Gladbrook.

PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

As of press time, the next regular school board meeting is set for Thursday, May 22, in Reinbeck in the junior high/high school library beginning at 7 p.m. A work session is also scheduled for Thursday, May 8, beginning at 7 p.m. at the same location.