Education

Jason_glass_education

Iowa education chief finalist for Colorado job

Move unlikely to affect education reform discussion, legislative leaders said

DES MOINES — Iowa Department of Education Director Jason Glass said being named a finalist for a superintendent job in Colorado won’t have any effect on Gov. Terry Branstad’s pursuit of education reform in Iowa. “The education reform agenda in Iowa was built to be independent of any one person,” Glass said during a break [...]

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Minnesota feeds the world illustration

University of Iowa students to showcase startups at business fair

Startups to compete for cash prizes; event open to public

University of Iowa students who are running businesses will have the opportunity to highlight their startups at a business fair on Friday. The university’s third annual business fair at the student business incubator will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Bedell Entrepreneurship Learning Laboratory, 322 N. Clinton St. Students will have [...]

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Student hand on a test form

School equity: Are schools reinforcing achievement gaps?

A new study suggests less-qualified teachers may be more likely assigned to work with lower-achieving students within a building, not just between schools. 3

  It’s like chocolate and peanut butter, love and marriage, Abercrombie and Fitch. It should be, anyway. If highly qualified teachers have such positive effects on student achievement, and if we’re serious about school equity and tackling achievement gaps between different demographic groups, it only makes sense to make sure highly qualified teachers are hired [...]

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Fifth grader Giselle Garcia (second from left) looks to fourth grader Biaktin Tial while they play frame drums during Beat for Peace practice at Roundy Elementary School on Wednesday, April 17, 2013, in Columbus Junction. The marimba and world-drumming ensemble will perform at the the Cedar Valley Kite Festival on Saturday, April 20. (Liz Martin/The Gazette-KCRG)

Beat for Peace Iowa aims to build strong students through music

Ensemble to perform in Marion on Saturday

Resilience. The word and its other iterations resonate, a conversational refrain in conversations about Beat for Peace. “The big push of it is, we want to create resilient students and children,” said Paul Corbierè, co-creator of Beat for Peace. “People who are not resilient get taken down and there’s a snowballing effect, where resilient people [...]

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The Educational Leadership and Support Center for the Cedar Rapids Community School District. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Cedar Rapids School Board approves tax hike, studies possible reductions

Staff positions might be cut, but many reductions could come through attrition

It’s official, for now: Taxpayers in the Cedar Rapids Community School District will see a 69 cent increase in the district’s property tax levy rate. At a regular meeting Monday, board members certified the district’s fiscal year 2014 budget, which includes raising the tax rate to $15.85 per $1,000 of taxable valuation from $15.16 during [...]

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Classroom

New administrators approved for Cedar Rapids schools

New Johnson School principal, instructional services leader to start jobs July 1

Two new administrators will join the Cedar Rapids Community School District on Monday, July 1. At Monday’s regular meeting, the district’s school board approved hiring Candi Lynch and Karla Ries. Lynch will become the principal at Johnson School of the Arts, replacing retiring current principal Kevin Uhde. Ries, the district’s new director of instructional services, [...]

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Education reform

By The Gazette Editorial Board —-   Iowa legislators have done more than pass an education reform bill; they’ve passed two. Two significantly distinct proposals put forth by the Republican-controlled House and Democrat-controlled Senate. That means a handful of senators and representatives will head into conference committee to try to reconcile the competing bills. Some [...]

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The Iowa City Community School District headquarters. (Brian Ray/The Gazette)

Iowa City, Clear Creek Amana districts expecting large enrollment gains

Statewide public school student enrollment expected to grow for next few years, then plateau

New information from the Iowa Department of Education predicts a promising enrollment future for the state’s public school districts. The population of students served in public schools is expected to increase by 4,351 learners by 2017-18, according to the department’s new enrollment projections released Thursday. Statewide certified enrollment for the 2012-13 school year is 476,245 [...]

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The Educational Leadership and Support Center for the Cedar Rapids Community School District. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Cedar Rapids school board to vote on new Johnson principal, instructional services director

Both positions to be filled by internal candidates, if approved

Administrators in the Cedar Rapids Community School District have looked in house to fill two empty positions. On Monday, April 8 the Cedar Rapids school board is set to vote on whether to approve Candi Lynch as the new principal at Johnson School of the Arts and Karla Ries as district director of instructional services. [...]

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Classroom

Eastern Iowa school districts face superintendent shuffles

Anamosa, Clear Creek Amana to lose current superintendents June 30

As the school year winds down, it’s the beginning of transitions for a few area administrators. Both the Anamosa and Clear Creek Amana community school districts will lose their current superintendents on June 30. “I’ve had a wonderful 34 years in public education,” said Denise Schares, retiring Clear Creek Amana superintendent. “Our youngest child graduated [...]

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