Education

by Brianne Grimstad

The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) Board of Directors held a pair of meetings within the past week, including a July 14 special meeting and a July 20 regular session. Coverage of both meetings appears below.

JULY 14
The ACSD board members met for a special meeting Tuesday, July 14. The board discussed and approved several change orders related to the Middle School HVAC project, totaling $46,489.23.

JULY 20
The ACSD board met for its regular monthly meeting Monday night, July 20. The meeting was preceded by a public hearing on the proposed lease and easement for the proposed solar project at the Waukon Wellness Center.

Five students of Luther College in Decorah have each been awarded a $1,000 Karen Julesberg Scholarship for the 2026-2027 academic year. The scholarship recipients for this year include Alyssa Connelly, Hattie Miller, Yves Muhire, Yasmin Ramadan and Emily Righter.

Alyssa Connelly, a 2025 graduate of Waukon High School from Harpers Ferry, will be entering her sophomore year at Luther this fall. She is majoring in elementary education and plans to be a special education teacher after graduation. Connelly is a student-athlete on the Lady Norse women’s golf team, and her hobbies include diamond art and puzzles. She enjoys her work-study position at Marty’s in the lower level of the Dahl Centennial Union at Luther.

Iowa Learning Farms (ILF), a conservation education and outreach program from Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, has published the On-Farm Forestry Field Guide for Iowa, which is available at no cost. The guide covers tree-centric topics and provides detailed advice on approaches to forest management. It also highlights on-farm benefits ranging from windbreaks and erosion control to crop trees and high-value timber production.

Billy Beck, assistant professor and extension forestry specialist at Iowa State, collaborated with ILF to prepare the guide for use by farmers and landowners. It provides easy access to practical and actionable advice on planning forestry activities that support land use, conservation, crop production and water quality goals.

For the fourth summer in a row, small-town educators across eastern Iowa are invited to come together for a free opportunity to enhance classroom learning, help them tend to their personal well-being, reconnect with their professional passion, and feel supported. The Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque is host the fourth-annual Rural Teacher Summit from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, August 5, at Camp Little Cloud, 21700 Girl Scout Road, Epworth.

The summit is free to attend for educators at all grade levels, including classroom teachers, school administrators, guidance counselors and other professionals. Breakfast and lunch are included, and each attendee will receive a $25 gas gift card to offset travel costs. This year’s summit also offers a new perk: Attendance will count toward teacher license renewal credit. Educators can register at dbqfoundation.org/summit26.

This past spring, Upper Explorerland Regional Planning Commission’s (UERPC) Safe Routes to School Program provided bike safety education to over 800 second grade students and distributed helmets to schools throughout Allamakee, Clayton, Fayette, Howard, and Winneshiek Counties. Through the program, more than 400 students who needed a helmet received one to take home, helping ensure they have the equipment needed to ride safely.

Through a multitude of member scholarship funds and generous support from industry partners, the National Dairy Shrine (NDS) awarded a total of $85,000 to students pursuing a dairy-related degree and future career. This year is the highest total value of scholarships awarded by the National Dairy Shrine, thanks to new scholarship opportunities and a significant increase to the values of scholarships awarded.

Whether they are working towards under-graduate, graduate, veterinary or technical degrees, these students will go on to become the dairy industry’s producers, communicators, scientists and leaders. They truly represent the next generation of dairy excellence.

Mallory Mohn, a 2024 graduate of Kee High School and the daughter of Cline and Noelle Mohn of Lansing, was a recipient of a $1,500 Dairy Management, Inc./National Dairy Shrine Milk Marketing & Dairy Products Scholarship.

Grace Stegen, the daughter of Lee and Jenny Stegen of Waukon, recently graduated Summa Cum Laude from Drake University in Des Moines with a Bachelor of Science degree in Health Sciences and a minor in Spanish. Stegen is a 2023 graduate of Waukon High School and was able to complete her undergraduate degree in only three years at Drake, due in large part to the college classes she was able to take from Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) during high school, where she earned her Associate’s Degree one week prior to graduating high school.

Stegen has now been accepted into the Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, where she will pursue her Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree. She says her goal is to practice rural medicine and impact patients the way her mother has throughout her career. Submitted photo.
 

by Susan Cantine-Maxson

The Eastern Allamakee Community School District (EACSD) Board of Directors held its regular monthly meeting Monday, June 8 at Kee High School in Lansing. Board President Arla Wagner called the meeting to order.

Other board members present included Heather Lutz, Director District #2 Vice-President; Joe Manning, At‑Large Board Member; Tommy Martin, Director District #1 Board Member; and Glen Delaney, Director District #3 Board Member. Non‑voting attendees included Superintendent Jay Mathis; Michele Martin, Board Secretary and Financial Clerk; Donna Thomas, PK‑12 Principal; and Liz Hill, Special Education Director and Associate Principal.

The board approved the meeting agenda as presented. No visitors offered public comment. Consent items including previous meeting minutes, the secretary’s financial report, student activity report, food service report, and monthly bills were reviewed and approved unanimously.

LifeServe Blood Center wants to help students and their families save money while also saving lives. Students who plan and execute a successful blood drive through LifeServe during the summer of 2026 can earn scholarships and recognition while making a meaningful difference in their community.

LifeServe will award up to $500 in scholarship funds to students who organize a successful blood drive between Memorial Day and Labor Day of this year. To be eligible for the scholarship, students must recruit donors, act as the chairperson for the blood drive, and register 25 donors ($250 awarded) or 40 donors ($500 awarded).

by Brianne Grimstad

The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) Board of Directors met for its regular monthly meeting Monday night, June 15. Under the Consent Agenda, the board approved the following personnel matters: Katy Heldt as West Elementary Secretary; 2026-2027 teacher mentors; Kloe Hemmersbach as eighth grade volleyball coach; Frank Weymiller, Ross Weymiller and Tim Bulman as volunteer football coaches; a $10 increase in teacher substitute pay to $150 and a $10 increase in teacher long-term substitute pay to $200; and an increase in paraprofessional hours for Tyme Lidsay.