The Pella School Board reviewed the district’s facility plan at a work session this week. Superintendent Greg Ebeling says a list of prioritized projects first developed in 2019 was brought back before the board, with several key initiatives in the works, including:
– Additional classrooms and storage at Jefferson Intermediate School
– A New Early Childhood Center to expand preschool options
– Classroom remodeling at the Pella Middle School
– HVAC System Upgrades at Pella High School, including expansion of air conditioning to the gymnasiums
– Athletic facilities, including possible new tennis courts and a resurfacing of the track and football turf
No project list was formalized, but Ebeling says those potential items are the highest priority as the board develops a potential bond vote in the coming months. Hear more about the latest in the Pella Community School District on today’s Let’s Talk Pella.
Iowa Department of Education Director Ann Lebo toured the Career Academy of Pella and Pella Middle School as part of a statewide initiative to view work-based learning programs in the state.
Lebo says she was able to view the diversity of programs available to students in the Pella-area, including demonstrations from culinary arts, welding, and patient care. She also mentioned the work she had done over the years with Vermeer to establish apprenticeship programs in Pella, which were the first in the state.
“One of my priorities has always been work-based learning, and so I’ve been on a work-based learning tour, and I had been to Pella several times before but not actually to the actual school,” she says. “Typically I’ve been at Vermeer as we’ve been working on what the apprenticeship partnership looks like, several years ago when they started the program. Today was my first chance to actually see the kids in the school and the opportunities they have and it’s been
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A Pella Middle School student is working to raise awareness about eating disorders through a class project. Sarabeth Decious is in Kristin Schulz’s 7th grade class, and was working on issues of global importance. Decious says she chose eating disorders because of the pressures her fellow teenagers face and some of the struggles in her own family.
“My teacher Mrs. Schulz–she was teaching us about the Global Goals [from the United Nations], and the third Global Goal is good health and wellness,” she says. “She had us think through what that looked like and how we could make a difference and help the U.N. complete that Global Goal.
There have been no positive COVID-19 cases among students in the Pella Community School District since spring break. In total, 1.4% of all district students missed class on Friday, which has largely been in line with the average in the 2020-21 school year, and 0.4% were in quarantine. This week, 1.7% of Pella Middle School staff were out of the building Tuesday through Thursday and 0.9% at the High School Tuesday and Wednesday for a COVID-19 related reason.
Central College hosted a vaccination clinic for students and employees Friday, where Johnson & Johnson vaccines were provided by Marion County Public Health. The college plans to have at least two more events before commencement in May. As of April 5th, a total of 25 positive cases have been reported on campus since the beginning of the winter semester.