Dr. Dan Butler is honored to serve as the sixth superintendent in the tradition-rich history of Western Dubuque Schools. He was officially appointed to this role on July 1, 2022. Dan strives to develop a learning community that focuses on the well-being of all students and stakeholders and works toward continual growth.
Dr. Butler is entering his 20th year in the Western Dubuque School District where he has served as a teacher, athletic coach, school administration manager, assistant principal, principal, and facilitator of human resources in various buildings. He holds a doctoral degree from the University of Northern Iowa.
Dan is passionate about leadership, positive relationships, continuous improvement, connected learning, and making differences in the lives of others. He has a passion for giving back to the profession by presenting at local, state, and national professional learning conferences about digital leadership, 21st century public relations/communication, organizational health, and developing leadership capacity. He has written various articles for educational leadership publications and published his first book, Permission to be Great: Increasing Engagement in Your School in 2021.
Dr. Butler has received numerous awards and was most recently recognized as a finalist for the School Administrators of Iowa Elementary Principal of the Year in 2019 and 2020. Dan was also recognized as the University of Northern Iowa Educational Leadership Legacy award winner in 2018 and was a 2017 bizTimes.biz Rising Star in the Tri-State area.
Dan is married to his wife, Johna, who is an administrator of Medicaid in the Dubuque Community School District. They have two boys, Mason (12) and Nolan (9), who attend Western Dubuque Schools. The Butler family resides in Epworth. When not at school, Dan enjoys spending time with his family and friends, reading, watching and participating in various sports, and attending a variety of events within the Western Dubuque School District.