AHSTW CSD Supports Iowa's AEA System

Hello everyone,

 

I write this letter in response to Governor Reynold’s State of the State speech earlier this week.  During her message, she provided her insights to upcoming priorities in the area of education.  Those priorities drew a varied response across the State, as she packaged her points in a way that many would find hard to disagree with.  However, after removing the packaging and analyzing the House Study Bills there are concerns with her educational platform.

 

At this time, I would like to focus on the Governor’s priority centered around “Narrowing and Closing the Achievement Gap”.  Most certainly there is No One in Iowa, including ALL Iowa educators, who can disagree with this priority, as we ALL want what is best for ALL students.  However, I disagree with Governor Reynold’s method of solving the problem, as her solution involves removing dollars from a system that is designed to assist school districts when districts are unable to provide the services ourselves due to an inability to hire certified professionals to serve a number of students.

 

I hope the following scenarios provide some insight into our experiences, as the discussed services would be eliminated from many Iowa schools if House Study Bill 542 passes both houses of the Iowa Legislature.

 

·      In past years, AHSTW CSD has partnered with Greenhills AEA to provide our students access to a certified social worker.  Our shared employee meets with students weekly to help students identify areas of concern and develop stronger coping skills to move forward in a healthy manner.  It is important to note with the advent of social media and the lack of controls, our students are facing many issues that we as adults never had to face as children, and we need the assistance of the AEA to provide those supports to our students and other Iowa students, as well.

 

·      With the teacher shortage, AHSTW CSD has struggled to hire a teacher with the appropriate licensure to best serve between 8-10 students in our English Language program.  Don’t get me wrong, we have found a wonderful teacher to support our students in the short-term, but our solution may not be long-term.  With that said, we have reached out to our AEA to look for assistance in hiring an ELL instructor to not only serve AHSTW, but multiple districts in our area who in a similar situation.

 

·      Professional Learning is also an area of support provided by our AEA. In fact, Greenhills AEA has provided training to many districts in our area on the instructional practices of LETRS, the research-based literacy practice recently adopted by the Iowa Department of Education to impact Governor Reynold’s literacy initiative.  This training was in person and supported by the AEA staff, while the training provided by LETRS and the Iowa Department of Education will be on-line.

 

 

o   Training in the area of TAG, ELL, Math, Science and more are also provided by our AEA partners.

 

·      Technology supports in Greenhills AEA are also very important for all districts, as Mr. David Fringer has worked diligently to assist in the development of Cyber-Security plans and infrastructure to assist us in protecting our data in our most vulnerable points.

 

·      Recently, AHSTW Community School District was in need of a school librarian, as our staff member left her position.  During our search Greenhills AEA was able to provide a teacher-librarian to serve us in this role.  At the same time, the same person was serving at least two other districts all while serving as a technology integration specialist, too.

 

I hope the above scenarios demonstrate just how important AEAs are and if reduced Iowa schools would be hard pressed to replicate those services.  Now I understand that larger districts in our AEA may be able to fill those positions as they have more dollars due to enrollment, but smaller districts would be hard pressed to do so, as we do not have the capacity to hire full time staff members in these areas and services hired through a private company would be at an increased cost and not affordable, thus reducing services to Iowa students, families, and staff.

 

I hope you consider my points and evaluate our circumstances in rural Iowa, as the AEA can truly help balance educational opportunities in all areas of the state all while supporting Senator Charles Grassley’s vision for supporting Iowa School Districts.

 

 “I’ve always had a passion for helping the next generation of leaders succeed. I led the charge to create AEAs when I served in the Iowa legislature, and I’ve enjoyed watching the success and profound impact these agencies have had on education in our state. It’s an honor to work on behalf of Iowa students in the Senate, and I’ll continue doing my part to ensure that they have the resources needed to reach their full potential,” Senator Charles Grassley.

 

Thank you and I would enjoy talking with you on these topics if you have time, as my goal is to help you develop an understanding of our position and needs.

 

 

Respectfully,

 

Mr. Darin Jones

Superintendent

AHSTW Community School District