Articles from 12/2020

A holiday ornament created by a student at Urbandale’s Karen Acres Elementary is being featured in President’s Park in Washington, D.C. Fifth-grader Sui Bar’s ornament is one of 56 ornaments created by students from across the country. Her ornament is part of the National Christmas Tree display. Sui’s mom…

Educators are encouraged to sign up for an Iowa Department of Education e-newsletter that links them to projects, ideas and best practices for work-based learning. Called the Iowa Clearinghouse for Work-based learning newsletter, it comes out monthly showcasing ideas for educators. It also links to the Iowa Clearing…

The fine arts, which include the disciplines of dance, music, theater, and visual arts, are an important part of a well-rounded education. To that end, the Iowa Department of Education has launched The Iowa Arts Education Data Project, an interactive dashboard displaying statewide high school arts course enrollment and…

Students in the class of 2027 have the opportunity to receive college access support beginning in seventh grade. GEAR UP Iowa, a federal grant administered by Iowa College Aid, is looking for partner school districts to increase college and career access and readiness, with particular emphasis on underserved and low-in…

More than 167 school districts and nonpublic schools will benefit DES MOINES - Gov. Kim Reynolds today announced $883,097 in annual awards that will prepare K-12 teachers in more than 167 school districts and nonpublic schools to teach computer science. “Computer science is an essential skill set for student su…

The Iowa Department of Education is seeking licensed Iowa educators to develop online courses for inclusion in Iowa e-Learning Central (ILC). ILC is being developed as a new resource to provide access to courses and tools to support educators as they navigate virtual learning environments and incorporate online instruc…

About one-third of districts saw increases DES MOINES — The Iowa Department of Education today released new 2020 fall enrollment statistics for Iowa’s 327 school districts showing a decrease of nearly 5,935 students from last year. Overall this decrease represents a 1.21 percent decline in certified enrollment t…

Partners within the Iowa Farm to School and Early Care Coalition have been awarded a Farm to Early Care and Education Implementation Grant (FIG) from the Association of State Public Health Nutritionists (ASPHN).   One of the grant strategies focuses on improving child nutrition by investing in Iowa agriculture…

Educators are asked to wear many hats these days, including monitoring for bullying and other potentially dangerous acts. Why not engage students in those efforts?   Students? Yes. There’s a program that is designed to put students at the forefront of preventing violence in their schools. Called Mentoring in…

Business, industry and education members to convene Dec. 8 DES MOINES - Gov. Kim Reynolds today announced the members of a new Computer Science Work Group created by a 2020 state law that for the first time requires Iowa’s 327 school districts and 116 accredited nonpublic schools to offer computer science instruct…