Education

Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) has received a new source of funding that will allow students to train for in-demand healthcare careers with no tuition cost.

The new funding through the State of Iowa Governors Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER II) is creating no-cost tuition training opportunities for students and helping the College and its partners to develop a healthcare employee pipeline in the community. Funding through Opportunity Dubuque is also available to support the training.

The GEER II funding, among other funding sources, will provide financial assistance to students who enroll in one of three short-term certificate programs at NICC; Phlebotomy Technician, Certified Nurse Aide (CNA) and Pharmacy Technician. Graduates of the programs will help backfill a wave of retirements in the healthcare sector.

The Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) Board of Trustees approved the President Search Committee’s recommendation of four finalist candidates for the position of college president at its meeting December 20. Finalists selected include the following:

by Brianne Eilers

The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) Board of Directors met twice during the month of December.

A special meeting was held Friday, December 3. Under the consent agenda, the board approved the following personnel matters: Cody Snitker as Middle School girls track coach and Jack Regan as Middle School wrestling coach. The board also accepted the following resignations: George Farning from his custodian position; Kendra Reburn from her paraprofessional position; and Lauran White from her paraprofessional position.

The board also approved a Sunday gym usage request from Waukon Heat Volleyball, as well as a field trip to La Crosse, WI for the Middle School 21st Century After School Program. The board also approved the ACSD 403(b) Plan Amendment.

Under new business, the board approved the purchase of two vans from Decorah Auto Center for $48,420. That amount was the net total after an $8,500 trade-in.

Continuing Education is required in order to keep a Private Pesticide Applicators license current annually. The Iowa State University Extension and Outreach Allamakee County office will be offering three face-to-face opportunities to attend the Private Pesticide Applicator Continuing Instruction Course, led by Extension Field Agronomist, Joshua Michel.

State law requires that attendees be in their seat at the start of the program. The course will run for approximately two and a half hours, and attendees must stay for the entire program. Individuals only need to attend one of these sessions to complete the education requirement.

The trainings will be held at the Freedom Bank Community Room in Waukon. Pre-registration is recommended by calling 563-568-6345. Allamakee County will be hosting the following dates and times: January 19 at 9:30 a.m., February 1 at 1:30 p.m. and February 1 at 6:30 p.m.

For families that will have a new college freshman next year, this is a great time to look for scholarships that will help offset the cost of an education. Scholarships are considered “gift aid,” meaning that they do not need to be repaid later. Some are one-time awards that can be used while a family’s college savings continues to grow; others are renewable as long as the student remains eligible.

While we hear a lot about athletic scholarships or awards for high academic achievement, no student should overlook the possibility of earning some scholarships. Many different types of organizations offer scholarships, so casting a wide net will help students locate the opportunities they are most eligible for.

Here are some tips from Iowa Student Loan for finding and applying for scholarships:

The Waukon Middle School 10th Hour After School Program has seen a noticeable increase in the number of students who are attending the program, and program leaders say they primarily attribute this to the generosity of the management staff of Waukon’s Dollar Fresh store, who have provided food items that were nearing their expiration date completely free of charge to the program. Many of the attending students are involved in the program’s Cooking Club and prepare snacks most nights (such as pictured in the photo at bottom right), not only eating the food donated from Dollar Fresh but also helping serve it to the sports teams members that come in after practice.

A program offering $2,000 scholarships is now open to Iowa high school seniors. Students not only have a chance at much-needed funds for college but can also learn ways to reduce college loan debt through the program.

Iowa high school seniors may register for the Iowa Financial Know-How Challenge: Senior Scholarship at www.IowaStudentLoan.org/Know-How between now and March 11. Once registered, students will receive instructions via email on completing two online modules and a related assessment.

Scholarships will be awarded to the students who score highest on the assessment or are determined through a tie-breaker. The two modules, Student Loan Game Plan and the Return on College Investment tool, are designed to help students and families determine maximum recommended levels of student loan debt and find ways to minimize the debt they need to repay.

The Keystone Area Education Agency (AEA) Board of Directors has announced that Stan Rheingans has been selected as its next administrator.

Current administrator, Pat Heiderscheit, announced his retirement in May of this year and will complete his tenure at the end of this current school year. “Pat will be greatly missed,” reflected Nancy Bradley, who serves as a board member for Keystone AEA as well as the Dubuque Community School District.

“After 11 years as Keystone’s leader, it is an understatement to say that his will be hard shoes to fill.”

The board engaged Grundmeyer Leader Services (GLS) to facilitate the search process. Staff members, superintendents and school leadership teams provided input through meetings and a stakeholder survey facilitated by GLS.

“At the core of our search were the leadership attributes of being humble, innovative, strategic, curious, collaborative and communicative,” noted Sue Updegraff, Keystone AEA Board member.

Area school boards recently elected members to the Keystone Area Education Agency (AEA) Board of Directors. Among those elected board members were a pair of area residents re-elected to positions they have held for multiple terms.

Bill Withers, M.D. of Waukon will begin his 44th year of service as the director in Director District 3 covering the Allamakee, Clayton Ridge, Eastern Allamakee and MFL MarMac Community School Districts.

Jan Kreitzer of Cresco was elected as the director in Director District 1, including the Howard-Winneshiek, Turkey Valley, and Riceville Community School Districts, and a portion of the Decorah and New Hampton Community School Districts. Kreitzer will begin her third term on the Keystone AEA Board.

The board will elect officers at an organizational meeting scheduled for December 20 at the Keystone Area Education Agency Administration Building in Elkader.
 

This is the 17th year for the Alumni Scholarship instituted by the Allamakee Scholarship Fund (ASF), Inc. Board of Directors. The award is made to a Waukon High School graduate who participated in ASF, Inc. while in high school and received an award as a graduating senior. The scholarship is available to college sophomores through graduate level students.

The ASF, Inc. Board feels it is important to continue the encouragement to Allamakee Community School District graduates as they continue their education, not just as they start their post-high school program. The group wishes to encourage participation in community service and college activities that are part of their educational growth and preparation for career and community life. Scholarship criteria include academic achievement, student participation in college activities, especially in their field of study, and community service.