Page 3 - Jenny Risner News Today

Story County Community Foundation A vehicle for charitable giving designed to benefit the needs of  Story County. Funding for cultural projects at KHOI comes from a generous donation from Ames Commission on the Arts. Ames School District Rolls with the Pandemic with Good Results, Bumble Bees Dennis Hart gives a summary of Iowa news from the past week. Dennis Hart sits down with Jenny Risner, Superintendent of Ames Community School District for a at the end of a school year dominated by the�...

Update From the House for District 80 by Rep. Holly Brink Hello Friends, The first funnel is over, so we have entered into a new season of the session. The only committees that met this week were Ways and Means, Appropriations, and Government Oversight. A large focus this week was given towards passing dozens of bipartisan bills in debate every day. Those bills will be sent to the Senate, or if they came from the Senate, they will be sent to the Governor’s desk. Every day I come to work I am ...

Ames Tribune An Iowa lawmaker on Tuesday called Ames Black Lives Matter at School week an abuse of power and misuse of resources, while district leaders defended the importance of affirming diverse identities in the classroom. The district kicked off Black History Month on Feb. 1 with the Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action, during which teachers engaged students with a set of 13 guiding principles through free resources from outside organizations. Stated goals for the week included...

New Ames special education director Thomas emphasizes system of supports Ames Tribune Adaptations made necessary during the COVID-19 pandemic may continue to offer Ames special education students new ways to be more involved in classrooms with their peers or access services at home, according to the districts new director of special education. The district announced earlier in February that Deani Thomas would start July 1 in the role, replacing Darcy Cosens, who is retiring.  Thomas said she...

An Iowa House of Representatives committee wants to hear from Ames Community School District officials how classroom materials were prepared for the districts recent Black Lives Matter at School Week of Action.

Ames Tribune There will be a few more students physically at Ames schools Monday than before, as a new state law promoting in-person learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic takes effect, but Ames Community School District says it is ready to continue to safely accommodate students in classrooms. Mondays changes also come as the district gauges families interest for remote learning for next year. Gov. Kim Reynolds signed in January a law that requires Iowa school districts to offer a 100% in-per...

Ames Tribune Middle and high school students in the Ames Community School District will return to 100% in-person learning Monday — with a remote learning option — after the districts school board changed course this week following their decision the week before to remain in a hybrid learning model for grades 6-12. Board members said what changed since was not underlying concerns about social distancing or teachers being at risk until they can be vaccinated, but improving local COVID-19 da...

Ames Tribune The Ames School Board voted 4-3 Monday against returning high school and middle school students to fully in-person learning for the second semester amid the COVID-19 pandemic.  Ames superintendent Jenny Risner recommended the Ames School Board vote to move to 100% in-person learning at the middle school and high school, but ultimately the board decided to remain in a hybrid model at the 5 p.m. board meeting.  The students have been in a hybrid model, meeting five days every t...

Des Moines Register Michaella Kleinmeyers environmental science class was already underway when a student announced the U.S. Capitol building had been breached. Once Kleinmeyer, a teacher at Roosevelt High School in Des Moines, heard the news she used her classroom projector to live stream coverage of the assault.  The students watched as Trump supporters stormed the capital and forced their way into the House and Senate chambers in an effort to stop the certification of the electoral col...

Ames Tribune All students in the Ames school district could fully return to in-person learning by second semester if local conditions allow. The first back likely would be elementary learners, Superintendent Jenny Risner said. Those learners could potentially move to a fully onsite model following the districts winter break, with families still having the ability to stay in a remote, fully online option. "Im hoping we can get them in it when we return on Jan. 4, but thats local conditions pen...