Education

by Brianne Eilers
 
The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD)Board of Directors met for a special meeting Tuesday, September 1 to discuss several personnel matters, as well as Sunday usage of the football field at Waukon High School.
Board members approved the hiring of Cindy Egan as a five hour per day cook, Denise Ward as a 5.75 hour per day associate at West Elementary, Carolyn Campbell as a 5.75 hour per day associate at Waukon High School, Earl Zezulka as a custodian at the Waukon Middle School, and staff for the 21st Century program. The Board also accepted two resignations: Lawrence Benda, due to retirement, from his position as a mechanic at the district bus barn, effective October 30, 2015; and Joey Lapel from his positions of 10th grade boys' basketball coach and assistant varsity baseball coach.

The Iowa Council of Foundations, the Iowa Campaign for Grade Level Reading and the State of Iowa has announced efforts to recognize September as Attendance Awareness Month and has joined a nationwide effort to celebrate Attendance Awareness Month in September. The groups pledged to raise awareness about the value of regular school attendance and focus on reducing chronic absenteeism in the new school year.
Friday, September 4, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad signed a proclamation in the formal office at the State Capitol in Des Moines declaring September as Attendance Awareness Month in the state of Iowa.

Fall semester at Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) began August 20, and at the school's board of trustees meeting August 17, administrators updated the members on a FY16-18 strategic plan that will ensure continued success for NICC students, and community, education and business partners.
In a presentation to the trustees, Kristin Dietzel, NICC executive director of institutional effectiveness, outlined the five major areas of the strategic plan. “The new strategic plan represents the college's commitment to its communities and to serve its students and partners, invest resources wisely, make data-informed decisions and focus on measurable student success outcomes,” Dietzel explained.
These areas include the following:

The Iowa Department of Education, Bureau of Nutrition and Health Services has announced its policy for free and reduced-price meals for children unable to pay the full price of meals served under the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program and the Afterschool Care Snack Program. State and Local school officials have adopted the family size and income criteria shown in the chart (at right) accompanying this article for determining student eligibility for meals.
Households may apply for free or reduced-price meal benefits one of four ways as listed below.
• Households whose income is at or below the levels shown are eligible for reduced-price meals or for free meals. Households may complete one application listing all children and return it to their child's school.

by Brianne Eilers

The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) Board of Directors met for a special meeting Thursday, July 30 to discuss several personnel matters, as well as a bid for window coverings for Waterville Elementary School. Resignations were accepted from Rose Blake, from her associate position, and Ron Herman, from his custodian position. The Board approved hiring Connie Kromer and Linda Schulte as 5.75 hour per day Middle School associates. The Board also approved hiring Jessica Strittmater and Lori Cahoon as 5.75 hour per day Elementary associates, and Sandy Darling as a 5.75 hour per day High School associate. Prior to adjournment, the Board accepted a bid from Lowery McDonnell Company for new window coverings at Waterville Elementary, for $4,806.88, as per the Fire Marshall’s report.

by Susan Cantine-Maxson

During the 21st Century Community Connections Learning Center (CCLC) Summer Program, also known as 10th Hour in the Allamakee Community School District (ACSD), students in sixth-12th grades were given the opportunity to become involved in a variety of hands-on clubs, including Gardening, Chess, Construction, Weight Training, Cooking, Euchre, Archery and Ping Pong.
In the Gardening Club this past session, students planted, nurtured and harvested a variety of vegetables. In addition, they designed and constructed a walkway in the garden area, painted the raised garden beds with original artwork, and utilized the harvested foods in Cooking Club recipes. Students also received an academic boost using the A+ Learning System, which is a computer program that tailors lessons to each individual student based on their strengths and weaknesses.

The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) will be wrapping up the final segment of this year's Free Summer Food Service Program during the first two weeks of August. Menus, such as those accompanying this article, will also be posted online and at the meal sites. Breakfast and lunch will be provided to all children ages one through graduated seniors for free and are the same for all children regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability, and there will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service.
Meals will be provided at the sites and times as follows:
• Waukon Junior High School Cafeteria: Mondays-Fridays, August 3-14. Breakfast will be served from 8-9 a.m. and lunch will be served from 11:15 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
•    Waterville Elementary School: Mondays-Fridays, August 3-14. Breakfast will be served from 8-9 a.m. and lunch will be served from 11 a.m-noon.

by Susan Cantine-Maxson

by Brianne Eilers