Category Archives: Schools

Feb 11

Hamburg agrees to Nishnabotna grade split

The continuing cohabitational saga of the Farragut and Hamburg school districts had a partial resolution last week, as the Hamburg school board agreed to Farragut’s proposal of having the junior high in Farragut and keeping kindergarten through sixth grades in … Continue reading

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Feb 10

Gladbrook school in danger of closing

Gladbrook-Reinbeck is considering reducing its school facilities, and closing the K-8 building in Gladbrook is one option, reports the Waterloo Courier. The others involve rearranging grades between the two towns but all put all of a grade’s students in one … Continue reading

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Feb 02

Iowa enrollment: Waukee adds NT’s entire student body

The certified enrollment numbers for Iowa’s public school districts were released at the end of last week. While the total is slightly up from last year, the bulk of that growth is concentrated in the state’s largest districts. Ankeny and … Continue reading

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Jan 27

Two small takeaways from the Condition of Education Report

The state’s annual Condition of Education Report (PDF) was issued last week and has plenty of statistics. One being brought up often in news articles is the increased number of minority students, although if you look in the charts (p. … Continue reading

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Jan 26

State gives Hamburg, Farragut time to work out differences

Omaha World-Herald: The Iowa School Budget Review Committee has granted requests from the Farragut and Hamburg school districts for additional budget authority, allowing them to spend dollars beyond those typically allowed for general fund expenses. Other stories: KMA (Tuesday), KMA … Continue reading

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Jan 22

Why not stick with ‘AHSTW’?

Walnut students have been participating in AHST athletics for years, but they just started in grade-sharing this school year. The districts are likely headed toward consolidation and Walnut’s near century and a half of independence will end. However, while it’s … Continue reading

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Jan 21

Collins-Maxwell-Baxter athletics split ahead?

Austin Draude pointed me to this Newton Daily News article that’s pretty much a bolt out of the blue: The very-long-term Collins-Maxwell-Baxter athletics sharing agreement may be falling apart. According to the article, there are some complaints about the location or split … Continue reading

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Dec 30

Diagonal school building turned 100 in 2014

April 1, 2010: View of the 1914 Diagonal school building. The round tube is a fire escape. The home of the smallest high school in Iowa marked its centennial this year. The main building for Diagonal schools was built in … Continue reading

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Dec 29

Gladbrook-Reinbeck enrollment report

Like all rural school districts in Iowa, Gladbrook-Reinbeck is experiencing a long-term decline in enrollment. To get a better grasp of what’s going on overall, and the trends, the district hired a consultant. The resulting report (PDF), on the macro … Continue reading

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Dec 19

Elma Elementary closed; is Lime Springs next?

“On roll call, all answered aye, although Duane Bodermann of Elma hesitated before voting to close his alma mater.” After years of debate and declining enrollment, the Howard-Winneshiek school district closed Elma Elementary at the end of last school year, … Continue reading

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