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Three Iowa students have been named 2018 U.S. Presidential Scholars. They are: Hermela Gebremariam, Fairfield Community High School, Fairfield Caleb L. Lines, Nashua-Plainfield High School, Nashua Sophia Xiao, Pleasant Valley High School, Bettendorf The three were among 161 scholars named as presidential…

Want to up your game in teaching the natural resources of Iowa? Here’s a class for you. Sponsored by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the Iowa Conservation Education Coalition, Exploring Iowa’s Natural Resources will be offered online Sept. 4 through Dec. 30. Participants will build a project-based l…

The most difficult jobs for future employers to hire and the most lucrative for future employees to find require these skills: “algorithm design; distributed systems; cloud computing; machine learning; mobile development; NoSQL; Scala; data science; big data and 1Python.” If you’re drawing a blank on what those s…

May is National Mental Health Awareness Month, a time to raise awareness about mental health conditions and mental wellness for all. This topic is vital to schools, since one in five children ages 13-18 has or will have a serious mental illness, and 50 percent of all life-time cases of mental illness begin by age 14…

As schools across the state begin ramping up their high-quality emergency operations plans, the Iowa Department of Education is putting together a series of initiatives, materials and trainings, as well as participating in state and national task forces. The extra emphasis on safety plans is, in part, due to new leg…

My kids and I recently watched the 1983 movie War Games, in which a young Matthew Broderick accidentally hacks into the United States’ nuclear missile system and nearly launches World War III. While the film seemed wildly futuristic when I saw it in the theater as an 8-year-old, the technology central to the storylin…

SIOUX CITY – If you could harness the energy being expended in a Perry Creek Elementary conference room lately, you could probably light up the whole school. Heck, you probably could light all the schools in the Sioux City Community School District. This team is energized with a capital “E.” It’s not their w…

Semifinalists The state of Iowa has 10 semifinalists for the prestigious 2018 U.S. Presidential Scholars program. Blaise F. Fangman, Masonville ‐ East Buchanan Community High School Hermela Gebremariam, Fairfield ‐ Fairfield Community High School Rachel Grober, Ionia ‐ New Hampton High School Hanna…

The Center for Violence Prevention (CVP) and the Governor’s Office of Bullying Prevention Task Force, in partnership with the Iowa Department of Education and other Pre-K- 12 representatives, released its Primary Prevention Action Report for Iowa Schools and Communities. The report expands on Iowa’s harassment a…

Collaboration helps students take ownership of their learning. SIOUX CITY – Sioux City Community Schools is taking the conventional classroom model and turning it on its head. Yes, students receive math, history, English and other classes. But unlike traditional classrooms, this Sioux City Career Ac…