tbabcock@timesrepublican.com
T-R File Photo
Students, parents and guardians in the Marshalltown Community School District and in districts across Iowa will take the Conditions for Learning Survey administered by the Iowa Department of Education.
Parents, guardians and students were recently sent a survey link with questions relating to a range of issues.
Student safety, positive student relationships, school rules and how they are enforced are among the included topics addressed by questions in the survey.
The Conditions for Learning Survey is required by the Iowa Department of Education to be administered by Iowa public schools annually since the signing of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015, which replaced the No Child Left Behind Act. The survey was designed to help improve student engagement, safety and learning environments in Iowa schools.
Trevor Babcock
Discussions of race, gender and sexuality in one Iowa public school district are raising questions about what content schools should be responsible for teaching their students.
In February, as a part of Black History Month, Ames Community School District engaged in “Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action.”
The district described the program as time set aside to affirm all Black identities by centering Black voices and to teach about Black experiences beyond slavery.
The lessons also included education affirming LGBTQ identities. The programming was not officially affiliated with any Black Lives Matter organization and parents were able to opt their children out of the education.
tbabcock@timesrepublican.com
CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS Students and teachers back in school after hybrid learning ends, returning to a fully in-person learning option.
The halls of the Marshalltown Community School District middle schools and high schools are full once again, with students nearly two weeks into their return to the total in-person learning option.
“I just smiled when I walked into the band room and the whole band was playing music together again,” Marshalltown High School Principal Jacque Wyant said. “I literally had goosebumps.”
She said there was some fear from teachers regarding in-person learning, but all teachers who want the COVID-19 vaccine have received their first dose.