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Superintendent Search: 30 Qualities Survey
January 29, 2018

Superintendent Search: 30 Qualities Survey

Dear parents, teachers, and the Ames community, On January 17, as a school board, we chose Ray & Associates as the search firm to help us with identifying candidates for the next Superintendent of the Ames Community School District. As a part of this process, we are seeking feedback on the preferred criteria to consider in our candidates. Below is a link to a survey we invite you to complete. Based on their experience, Ray & Associates has identified 30 criteria of effective school leaders. Please select up to 10 criteria most important to you. There is also an open-ended question for you to identify those things candidates should know about our district and community. The survey will close at 8:00 a.m. on February 9.  Additionally, our search firm consultants will be hosting listening sessions with various identified focus groups (teachers and staff, students, parents, building administrators, and community leaders).  The public is invited to participate in a focus group with our consultants on February 5, 5-6 pm in the District Board Room. As we move through this process, we will strive to keep you informed as much as possible.  A timeline detailing the process will be posted to our website in the upcoming days.   Thank you for your support during this important process! Sincerely, Alisa Frandsen Ames School Board President

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Department of Education officials talk Iowa Core in Ames
January 24, 2018

Department of Education officials talk Iowa Core in Ames

Representatives from the Iowa Department of Education stopped in Ames Tuesday night to deliver a presentation and answer questions regarding the Iowa Core, the state’s…

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I.O.W.A. STEM Teacher Award
January 18, 2018

I.O.W.A. STEM Teacher Award

Teresa Green, K-5 Technology Teacher at Edwards Elementary, was recently selected as the North Central Iowa Region’s recipient of the 2018 I.O.W.A. STEM Teacher Award. The award is established through the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council and sponsored by Kemin Industries. It recognizes “exceptional dedication toward increasing student interest and achievement in STEM fields and careers in innovation.” Green is a 30 year veteran teacher (25 in the Ames CSD) who started as an elementary music teacher. She got her Masters of Curriculum and Instructional Technology degree from Iowa State University, and today is a the K-5 Technology Teacher at Edwards Elementary.

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Iowa School Report Card 2017
January 12, 2018

Iowa School Report Card 2017

The Iowa Department of Education released the annual Iowa School Report Card, the state’s web-based school ratings system, on December 13, 2017. The Iowa School Report Card, which was launched in 2015 as part of a state legislative requirement, rates individual public schools on measures of student achievement, as well as other factors. They include student proficiency rates in math and reading combined, student academic growth, narrowing achievement gaps among students, college and career readiness, student attendance, graduation rates, parent involvement, and staff retention. Based on each school’s performance over a two-year period, the report card assigns one of six ratings: Exceptional, High-Performing, Commendable, Acceptable, Needs Improvement, and Priority. Celebrations: The Iowa School Report Card bases the majority of its measures on the Iowa Assessment results. As a result, it showed an overall decline in proficiency rates across the state. In Ames, however, all 7 schools (high school, middle school, 5 elementary schools) show student proficiency rates above the state average. The overall rankings for 6 schools in Ames are within the “Commendable,” while Fellows Elementary garnered a “High-Performing” ranking. A point of pride for Ames High School is the College and Career Readiness mark of 70.2%. The state average in that category is 39.5%, clearly showing Ames High students preparedness toward the next step in their lives.

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