The Ames School Board discussed two new high school courses that will help students build their literacy and math skills at the last meeting before the new school year, which starts Aug. 25.

Jeff Hawkins, associate superintendent of the Ames Community School District, announced plans for two courses that would be offered in the new school year without needing to hire additional staff.

Both courses would use data from screening assessments to identify students who need additional support in literacy and math, Hawkins said during the board’s Monday meeting.

“I am excited about the work the high school wants to do in these courses,” Hawkins said.

Both courses would allow students to build their skills in literacy and math during a minimum of one semester. Both would cost the district between $1,000 to $1,500 to develop.

Foundations of Literacy: Reading and Writing: The course is for students identified as needing additional support to improve reading skills, comprehension skills, textual analysis and response to complex texts, as well as written communication skills.
Mathematical Reasoning: Quantitative Foundations: The course is for students identified as needing additional instruction in number sense, algebraic reasoning and data analysis in order to build problem-solving skills.

District’s legislative priorities

The district has identified three top priorities for the upcoming legislative session:

Supplemental state aid: The district is asking for a “sufficient, predictable school aid formula” that allows it to meet educational expectations; resources to recruit and retain staff; and including inflation and cost-of-living adjustments to protect the district’s general funds.

Mental health: The district is asking for mental health systems that provide treatment and preventive services; more access to mental health professionals; expansion of therapy classrooms and training; and support for staff mental health.

Private school choice: The district is asking that private schools accepting the state’s education savings accounts be required to accept all students and follow public education standards; for program transparency including audits; and closing loopholes, increasing oversight and preventing program expansion. The district also opposes education savings accounts, vouchers, and direct taxpayer funding to private schools or home schools.

The district identified additional priorities, including school funding policies, drop-out/at-risk prevention funding and preservation of localized accountability and decision making.

Also noteworthy

• Nearly 80 district staffers have drafted a district-wide instructional playbook that includes a list of high-impact teaching strategies and descriptions of teaching practices for the strategies.
• The district welcomed 18 new teachers at New Teacher Orientation plus at least three more teachers have joined the district since then.
• The board heard several construction updates. Bleacher seating is complete at Ames High’s stadium; playgrounds at Mitchell, Sawyer and Fellows elementary school will be completed by Aug. 24; and the district is working with the city to rezone the property at Northwestern Avenue and 13th Street to multi-use.
• Because of a geothermal settlement related to the construction of Ames High School, $290,172 remains in the project budget. The funds will be transferred to the district’s SAVE Capital Projects Fund, which is being used for the high school stadium project.
• The Governor’s School Safety Bureau reimbursed the district for $301,896 in upgrades and additions of interior and exterior cameras at all school buildings.
• The Ames Cyclone Aquatics Club will pay $75 per hour to use the high school weight room on a non-exclusive basis.
• The district’s Back to School Staff Breakfast is at 7:30 a.m. Aug. 20 at Ames High.
• The district will auction old equipment, furniture and other items due to limited storage space.
• The next school board meeting will be Sept. 8.