Superintendent Jenny Risner News Today

Risner and the school board reached an agreement whereby she would resign at the end of the current fiscal year, June 30, 2021.

Representatives of AYSAT and another local activist group called last month for the immediate removal of SROs from the districts schools and a review of classroom discipline procedures, based upon data from this year, and while the district will take more time than that in looking at the issue, action of some kind is coming in the months ahead. Task force to look at how SROs should be used in Ames, before board decision on whether to have them at all It currently costs Ames CSD and the city $2...

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.

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...

Ames district outlines areas of emphasis for students, families, staff Ames Tribune Ames school district to continue work toward implementing universal framework as 40-60% of students report feeling a sense of belonging prior to the pandemic.  Board members and district staff met virtually Monday to revisit district priorities and goals over the last year during a work session that followed the weekly school board meeting.  "Its a belief of mine that oftentimes we think about the achievemen...