Facilities Are Instrumental to the Educational Process

Over the course of this past calendar year a number of exciting changes in facilities have
taken place in our districts. Discussions continue about the future of some of our existing
facilities and how they can best serve the needs of our students and the communities as a
whole..

The building in Aurelia that houses the Aurelia Elementary and the Alta-Aurelia Middle
School has undergone an extensive renovation and remodel. This was done primarily to
address handicap accessibility issues and ADA compliance. It also was an opportunity to
modernize the building and make it more functional for 21st century needs educational
needs.

The old permanent bleachers have been replaced with retractable bleachers that have
handicap accessible seating. The gym floor was replaced and six retractable baskets were
installed. The area of the building that was formerly the Industrial Arts shop has been
converted into a ground floor kitchen and cafeteria. An elevator that accesses all four
floors has been constructed in the building. The elevator should be complete and fully
operational shortly after the holiday break.

In Alta, the high school was relocated to the south building that houses the elementary
and formerly the middle school grades. A newly constructed wing was built specifically
for high school facilities such as, Industrial Arts, Band, Art, Family and Consumer
Science, and Chemistry/Physic lab. The move to the new high school facility was made
late last fall.

Currently, the Alta Preschool and Head Start occupy three classrooms on the main
floor of the old high school building. For the time being, the superintendent's office and
business office remains on the main floor of the high school as well. This office also
serves as the office for the preschool. Current operational cost estimates for utilities and
routine maintenance, as the facility is presently being used, run approximately $25,000
annually

The FFA continues to use the east bay of the shop for the tractor restoration project and
one classroom off the shop area is used for FFA meetings and FFA storage. The west
bay of the shop has been converted to the athletic weight room.

Moving forward, the Alta Board of Education has stated that they would like to continue
to maintain and use the old high school gym and shop area. They are in the planning
stages of the future of the old high school building that was built in 1916.

In 2009, the Alta district conducted a study for facility renovation or construction.
Handicap accessibility in that building was something that the district was being forced to
address due the recent Department of Education equity visit. Architects were contracted
and a comprehensive study was conducted. Findings indicated that over $1.2 million
dollars of renovation was needed to bring the building up to electrical, mechanical codes
and meet ADA compliance. At that time it was determined that a newly constructed
addition to the elementary/middle school building was more cost effective and
educationally sound long-term.

Over the past few months, the board has held public forums to discuss the possible future
of the old high school building and to gain feedback from the public. It is important that
the impact on the community be taken into consideration no matter the final decision.
School building often time represent fond memories and have served as the hub of
community activities and as such, they hold a special place in the communities they
serve.

One of the options that has been discussed is repurposing the building. Many ideas have
been brought forward. The cost for renovation, asbestos abatement, electrical upgrades
and mechanical renovations still exists, regardless of the projected use.

Another likely option is to take down the old high school and keep the gymnasium and
shop area. Cost for demolition was a part of the 2009 study, but those figures are now
out of date and the architects have been asked to make available to the board updated
costing for demolition of the building to include any construction cost needed to maintain
the old gym and shop area. We hope to have those figures back to the board later this
winter so decisions can be made based upon current data. Relocation of the current
preschool will also be taken into account in these plans.

As new costing data is presented to the Alta school board, that information will also be
shared with the public. There will be additional opportunities for feedback prior to final
decisions being made.

EdCamp Comes to Iowa!

The information below was forwarded to me by Dr. Scott McLeod:

EdCampIowa, Iowa’s first cross-state unconference! EdCampIowa West will be hosted by Prairie Lakes AEA at the Buena Vista University Forum in Storm Lake. EdCampIowa East will be hosted by Bettendorf High School. Both locations will run on Saturday, February 16, from 8:30am to 3:30pm.

What’s an EdCamp, you say? EdCamps are unlike any other workshop or conference that you’ve probably attended. EdCamp sessions are created by the attendees in the morning. The rest of the day is spent in conversation around the topics identified by participants.

If this sounds strange to you, it’s likely because you’re used to a different model, one in which the agenda and sessions are determined ahead of time. The challenge of traditional workshops or conferences is that you didn’t get to pick the sessions, someone else did. As such, they may or may not meet your learning needs. At an EdCamp, participants, not planners, determine the sessions so they’re much more likely to be targeted, relevant, and timely. ‘Voting with your feet’ also is strongly encouraged, so you can (and should) quickly leave one session for another if it’s not meeting your learning needs. Since all EdCamp sessions are facilitated discussions that tap into the collective wisdom of attendees rather than ‘sit and get’ presentations directed by outside experts, EdCamps always turn out to be incredible, energizing days of conversation.

How do you know if you’re right for EdCampIowa? If these types of questions resonate with you, you’re a prime candidate:

• What if we didn't have class periods?
• How can we help kids think more deeply?
• Are high school diplomas and university degrees still necessary for credentialing?
• What is getting in the way of us changing faster?
• How can preschool and elementary students use digital tools in powerful ways?
• What if we didn't ignore that most of the time students are bored?
• What might school look like if students were in charge of teaching at least 20% of the time?
• Do we really need grades?
• How can we better facilitate school-university partnerships?
• Are tablets or Chromebooks viable 1:1 devices?
• What has to go in order to make competency-based student progression work?
• In a multimedia world, what is the future of reading?
• and many, many more... (see the EdCampIowa web site!)

Register to join the excitment February 16 for an amazing day of discussion and learning. We You will leave with many great ideas, excited to take action back home! Registration is FREE, lunch will be provided, and we’ll have Internet access for any electronic device that you bring along. This is open to everyone! Students, staff, school board, parents, legislators, and community members to participate too. Everyone is welcome at an EdCamp!

More information is available at www.EdCampIowa.org. Sign up soon. They are giving us a 24-hour head start before opening it up to the rest of the state but there will only be 200 slots at the Storm Lake location...