School Board Statement on DE Denial and the Importance of Local Control
The Ames school board issued a statement in response to the Department of Education denying permission for the “phased-in” hybrid delivery model and outlined next steps and the importance of local control. You can read the statement below:
Read moreRTL Update – Process for Positive Cases
Process for Positive COVID-19 Student/Staff Ames Community School District has put in multiple strategies to substantially reduce the risk of spread of COVID-19 within our buildings. Even with those mitigation strategies, due to the nature of community spread of COVID-19, a student or staff member may contract the virus. We have posted on our website the process for responding to a student/staff member testing positive for COVID-19. Even with this document, we know that there are many more questions and we are working on an FAQ related to this to address many of them. A few examples of those questions include: Do all family members need to quarantine if their student is identified as a close contact at school? Will teachers be required to work if they test positive for Covid-19 but are asymptomatic (do not have any Covid-19 symptoms?
Read moreRTL Update – Decision-Making Metrics / Food Service for Virtual Students
Decision-Making Metrics: The decision-making metrics to determine the appropriate delivery model was presented to the school board last night. The development of these metrics was done in collaboration with Mary Greeley Medical Center, Story County Public Health, and Story County Emergency Management. The metrics look at community positivity rates and building absence rate and will be utilized after the phased-in hybrid start of school in the month of September. The entire document can be found on our website. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oS92cPlp45DS2RNdIw-79UpwDfZjvP-N8zyjM6WcWSM/edit
Read moreRLT Update – Delivery Model Transition / Face Covering Guidelines
Here is the latest information around Return to Learn for the 2020-2021 school year. School Board Meeting (August 17, 2020): The school board will hold their regularly scheduled meeting tonight at 6:30. The meeting can be found at the Zoom URL below or streamed on our YouTube Channel. https://ames-k12-ia-us.zoom.us/j/86405748536
Read moreSchool Board Meeting / Derecho Impact
School Board Meeting (August 17, 2020): The school board meeting that has been rescheduled multiple times this week has been canceled. The agenda items have been pushed to the next school board meeting that will take place next Monday, August 17 at 6:30. The meeting can be found at the Zoom URL below or streamed on our YouTube Channel. https://ames-k12-ia-us.zoom.us/j/86405748536
Read moreRTL Update – Building and School Board Meetings
Return to Learn (August 12, 2020) - Building and School Board Meetings Due to the ongoing power restoration and clean up effort across Ames, we are rescheduling a variety of meetings. School Board Meeting (August 14, 2020): The school board meeting scheduled for noon today is being rescheduled for Friday, August 14 at noon. The meeting can be found at the Zoom URL below or streamed on our YouTube Channel. https://ames-k12-ia-us.zoom.us/j/89794606591
Read moreRTL Update – Building Plans / Phased Hybrid Calendar
Here is the latest information around Return to Learn for the 2020-2021 school year. Read this announcement in Spanish or Arabic. Building Plans: Today, you will receive building-level implementation plans for the start of the 2020-2021 school year. Please know that these are fluid documents as each building is continuing to develop details around what school will look like this fall. We will also be posting each plan on our website at the following URL. https://amescsd.org/district/district/return-to-learn/return-learn-plan/
Read moreDr. Kathi Arnold named new Emergency Management Coordinator
The Ames Community School District is pleased to announce Dr. Kathryn Arnold as the new Emergency Management Coordinator. In this position, she will organize and manage many of the COVID-related logistics across the District throughout the school year. Arnold most recently served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Missouri St. Louis, teaching online courses in numerous topics. Prior to that, she was an Education and Policy Consultant at Boca Raton Regional Hospital.
Read moreRTL Update – Timeline / UEN Letter
Here is the latest information around Return to Learn for the 2020-2021 school year. Updated Recommendation/Approval Date of RTL Model: Next Monday, August 3, a recommendation will be made to the school board about the delivery model to start the school year. This is a week earlier than what was originally communicated to allow the District and families more time to plan for the start of school. The school board meeting will be held virtually and can be accessed at the Zoom URL below or watched live on our YouTube Channel. https://ames-k12-ia-us.zoom.us/j/87016509538
Read moreRTL Update – Transportation / Face Coverings
Transportation Bus Request Durham Transportation is beginning to create bus routes for the 20-21 school year. The online registration process includes the bus transportation request, but you MUST check YES if you want your child to be considered for busing for the 2020-2021 school year. It is easier to remove your student from a route than to add them at the last minute. Please contact Leslie Weible (transportation@ames.k12.ia.us) with transportation-related questions or changes to your original busing request.
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