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School district to learn from public feedback
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| Janelle Penny Photo, Educational consultant Sammye Wheeler-Clouse addresses a public forum on Monday. She will deliver her recommendations to the district in about a month. “It’s really difficult for [students] to make so many transitions," said Wheeler-Clouse |
by Janelle Penny, news@waverlynewspapers.com
About 80 people answered the district’s call to provide feedback on the future of Waverly-Shell Rock schools.
The roomy conference space at Wartburg College was about half-full at each of the two public forums. An online survey will open Friday for those who could not make it to a meeting.
Waverly-Shell Rock could debate a long-term plan for the district's schools as early as November, Superintendent Jere Vyverberg said Monday.
Educational consultant Sammye Wheeler-Clouse will compile comments from a pair of public forums this week and deliver her final recommendations to the district at the end of the month.
"Not only our school, but our community and friends suffered devastating damages [after the June flood]," Vyverberg told a crowd of about 40 people Monday. "The community has gone through a lot of loss."
Forum attendees broke into groups to debate the best way to group grades in schools.
A crew including former state Sen. Bob Brunkhorst ultimately endorsed a single building for fifth through eighth grades with the caveat that school designers separate the seventh and eighth graders from the fifth and sixth graders. This way, Brunkhorst later added, the district could reduce the number of transitions students must endure, a goal Wheeler-Clouse urged the two audiences to consider.
Years of research, she added, indicates that students achieve higher and are more well-adjusted when they make fewer transitions between buildings.
"At the junior high, we're a speed bump," echoed Junior High Principal Steve Kwikkel, who led his group's discussion. "You just get them in... and then they go."
Parent Brenda Ponto, who went to Tuesday's forum with husband Tony, said her group agreed the district should focus its short-term efforts on finding a solution for Irving and the crowded junior high. A fifth- through eighth-grade building with separated grades could be a viable option, she agreed.
"The situation with Irving and the junior high is urgent," she said after the meeting. "We need to find a solution for that and keep in mind what's in the best interest of the kids."
The fate of Washington Irving's familiar Sixth Street building is undecided, but the school has been flooded three times, Vyverberg said. This year's flood caused about $3.6 million in damages to the building, which could not be repaired in time for school to start. Irving's fifth- and sixth-graders now attend classes in a revamped former warehouse in Willow Lawn Mall.
The district bought 30 acres of land from Lutheran Services in Iowa in February to aid long-term planning. The plot, located west of the high school and south of Bremwood, expands the district's options, groups agreed.
The flood damage lends the discussions a sense of urgency, Vyverberg said, but the district had planned a September discussion long-term plans for buildings before the disaster hit. Enrollment is growing at most buildings, he said, and two schools are land-locked, preventing future expansion. Early planning now prevents unpleasant surprises later, Ponto agreed.
"We're all in this together," Ponto said. "It's evident each of us have a concern, but the main focus is kids."
At noon on Friday, administrators will post an online questionnaire to gather input from people who could not attend the meeting. Visit waverly-shellrock.k12.ia.us and click on the survey link. Paper copies are available at the superintendent’s office, located at 1415 Fourth Ave. SW. Results from paper copies will be entered into the online tool by district staff.
The survey will be open until 10 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 10.
The roomy conference space at Wartburg College was about half-full at each of the two public forums. An online survey will open Friday for those who could not make it to a meeting.
Waverly-Shell Rock could debate a long-term plan for the district's schools as early as November, Superintendent Jere Vyverberg said Monday.
Educational consultant Sammye Wheeler-Clouse will compile comments from a pair of public forums this week and deliver her final recommendations to the district at the end of the month.
"Not only our school, but our community and friends suffered devastating damages [after the June flood]," Vyverberg told a crowd of about 40 people Monday. "The community has gone through a lot of loss."
Forum attendees broke into groups to debate the best way to group grades in schools.
A crew including former state Sen. Bob Brunkhorst ultimately endorsed a single building for fifth through eighth grades with the caveat that school designers separate the seventh and eighth graders from the fifth and sixth graders. This way, Brunkhorst later added, the district could reduce the number of transitions students must endure, a goal Wheeler-Clouse urged the two audiences to consider.
Years of research, she added, indicates that students achieve higher and are more well-adjusted when they make fewer transitions between buildings.
"At the junior high, we're a speed bump," echoed Junior High Principal Steve Kwikkel, who led his group's discussion. "You just get them in... and then they go."
Parent Brenda Ponto, who went to Tuesday's forum with husband Tony, said her group agreed the district should focus its short-term efforts on finding a solution for Irving and the crowded junior high. A fifth- through eighth-grade building with separated grades could be a viable option, she agreed.
"The situation with Irving and the junior high is urgent," she said after the meeting. "We need to find a solution for that and keep in mind what's in the best interest of the kids."
The fate of Washington Irving's familiar Sixth Street building is undecided, but the school has been flooded three times, Vyverberg said. This year's flood caused about $3.6 million in damages to the building, which could not be repaired in time for school to start. Irving's fifth- and sixth-graders now attend classes in a revamped former warehouse in Willow Lawn Mall.
The district bought 30 acres of land from Lutheran Services in Iowa in February to aid long-term planning. The plot, located west of the high school and south of Bremwood, expands the district's options, groups agreed.
The flood damage lends the discussions a sense of urgency, Vyverberg said, but the district had planned a September discussion long-term plans for buildings before the disaster hit. Enrollment is growing at most buildings, he said, and two schools are land-locked, preventing future expansion. Early planning now prevents unpleasant surprises later, Ponto agreed.
"We're all in this together," Ponto said. "It's evident each of us have a concern, but the main focus is kids."
At noon on Friday, administrators will post an online questionnaire to gather input from people who could not attend the meeting. Visit waverly-shellrock.k12.ia.us and click on the survey link. Paper copies are available at the superintendent’s office, located at 1415 Fourth Ave. SW. Results from paper copies will be entered into the online tool by district staff.
The survey will be open until 10 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 10.
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