Each March, we come together to celebrate Women’s History Month—an annual opportunity to honor the countless contributions women have made throughout history. From trailblazing leaders and innovators to everyday heroes shaping their communities, Women's History Month offers a chance to reflect on the progress we've made and the challenges still ahead. It’s a time to elevate the voices of women who have often been overlooked or forgotten, ensuring that their legacies inspire and empower future generations. As we recognize these remarkable stories, we also acknowledge the strength, resilience, and vision that continue to propel women forward in every field, breaking barriers and shaping the world in profound ways.
Koni Grimsrud, Director of Student Services for Rochester, MN, Public Schools, believes she can bring more student-centered, trauma-informed, and responsive practices to her schools. She also maintains an unusually upbeat perspective on the times in which we are living. Regarding the current governmental changes, she says, “I don’t see a world in which we don’t support all students. I view the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act as fundamental to our rights as human beings.”
“We are still seeing the effects of the pandemic,” she continues. “There are many unmet emotional needs. I see addressing those needs from a public school system lens as foundational, so that all students can achieve academic success.”
Koni’s path to becoming a school administrator began in childhood, but it wasn’t something she had planned. She recalls, “Somewhere between 4th and 6th grade, I decided to be a teacher. I had good teachers as examples, and I knew they cared about me as a person first.”
Born and raised in the small town of Rushford in southwestern Minnesota, Koni was a natural singer: “I’ve never known life without music.” She sang in the church choir and in school musicals, and she says that’s where she truly found her voice.
Wanting to pursue a career in education, Koni attended Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD, where she majored in Special Education, Communication Disorders, and Early Childhood Education. “At first, I wanted to be an educator of the deaf, but my father’s cousin, Al Rasmussen, had other ideas.” Koni fondly referred to him as Uncle Al, and says he had a life-changing influence on her. He was an elementary school principal who encouraged her to become a speech-language pathologist because the need was constant, and she would be more marketable.
Straight out of college, Koni began working as a teacher, but quickly entered a master's program in speech-language pathology at Minnesota State University, Moorhead, MN.
During her master’s program, she and her husband, Dana, found out they were expecting their first child, Gunnar. She recalls bringing him to class as an infant while Dana, who coached college basketball for North Dakota State University in Fargo, traveled frequently. Two years later, when their second child, Trajan, arrived, they decided to move back home. Dana switched to a career in finance, and over the next few years, they had two more children: Gracie and Rees.
“As a woman, I sacrificed a lot of family time to continue my career, but I knew it was the way for me to contribute to the world and to show my children that they could accomplish anything they chose,” Koni says. “In the early years, I kept my kids home, taught them, and worked when I could. We lived small, quaint, and beautifully.”
By 2013, Koni was a lead teacher for Rochester Public Schools. “I was duped,” she laughs. “I remember the phone call when I was offered my first leadership position. I pulled my car over so I could calmly ask if I could go back to my old job if this wasn’t a good fit for me. The answer was no. Taking that job was a trust exercise.”
Two of her women supervisors played a significant role in shaping her career. Mary Lambert first encouraged Koni to consider leadership, and Karla Bolleson later urged her to earn her administrative license as a Director of Special Education, which Koni did at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, all while caring for four children under the age of 18. “In a note Mary wrote to me after her retirement, she said, ‘Use your voice. They need to hear what you have to say.’”
Before long, Koni became Coordinator of Early Childhood Special Education, providing support to teachers, parents, and students. She later became Assistant Director, and eventually Director of Special Education. Today, she serves as Director of Student Services for Rochester Public Schools. “Over the years, it became my role to elevate the voices of the staff I serve while trusting them to do this good work. In my eyes, that is critical to leadership.”
In her current role, Koni is proud that her department secured a $2.5 million federal mental health grant, making them the only district in Minnesota to accomplish this. “I credit my whole team,” she says. She believes that building the mental health workforce to help educators understand the impact of trauma on brain development—from the brain stem to the cortex—is essential. “Our brains must be regulated, ready, and related to in order to learn,” she explains. “Then our children will succeed.”
A significant improvement in Koni’s life has been the formation of the Rochester Administrators Association Local 143, AFSA. “I know being unionized makes a difference,” she says. “I was always told that the price you pay to become a leader in education is working longer hours, more days, with increased responsibility and reduced pay. It never made sense to me.”
Travel is Koni’s “happy place.” She enjoys visiting beaches to be around water and feel the sand between her toes. But as a singer, Broadway is still her favorite destination. “I’ve seen Wicked five times and Hamilton three,” she shares.
Despite her demanding work schedule, Koni says, “I sing every day, almost all day long, and there is never not a song in my head.”
