Education

by Brianne Grimstad

The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) Board of Directors met in a pair of sessions within the past several weeks, including a special meeting Friday, May 27 to discuss a few personnel matters. Board member Brent Beyer was absent at that special meeting. The board approved the following recommendations to hire: Kim Kraus as middle school secretary; Stacie Cooper as Social Emotional Learning PLC leader; increase para hours for Liz Fish; Nancy Snitker, elementary paraprofessional; Katie Martin, elementary paraprofessional; Aubrie Monroe, elementary paraprofessional; Jenna Shogren, elementary paraprofessional; and Stephanie Radloff, high school paraprofessional. The board also accepted the resignation of Bethany Noble from her Title I teaching position.

Friday, May 27, a luncheon was held in the Waukon Middle School Gym for all employees of the Allamakee Community School District (ACSD). In addition to commemorating the end of another school year, the luncheon event was held to honor employees of the district who have achieved milestones of 15, 20, 25 and 30 years of continuous service within the district along with those who are retiring from the district following the end of this school year.

A total of 19 staff members were honored during the luncheon event (some of whom are pictured in the photos below), including the following:

Iowa PBS will present a livestream of the 2022 Iowa High School Musical Theater Awards Showcase on iowapbs.org, Facebook and YouTube Saturday, June 18 at 7 p.m. A 90-minute highlights special will air Monday, July 18 at 8 p.m.

The Waukon High School fall musical “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” has been awarded the “Distinguished Scene Award” from the Iowa High School Musical Theater Awards Program (IHSMTAP) and will be recognized during the June 18 showcase event. All cast, crew and pit band members of the performance were honored with the Distinguished Scene Award for their performance of “Magic Foot” during the production.

In addition to its statewide broadcast, Iowa PBS .1 is available to livestream on iowapbs.org/watch, pbs.org/livestream, the PBS Video App and YouTube TV. Iowa PBS programs.
 

by Susan Cantine-Maxson

The regular meeting of the Eastern Allamakee Community School District (EACSD) Board of Directors was held at Kee High School in Lansing Monday, May 16. The meeting was called to order by Board President Bobbie Goetzinger. Board members present included Tony Becker, Bobbie Goetzinger, Kelli Mudderman and Arla Wagner; board member Melanie Mauss was absent. Also present were EACSD Superintendent of Schools Dr. Dale Crozier, Kee High School and Middle School Principal Dr. Sarah Updegraff and Board Secretary Michele Martin.

After the agenda was adopted, the board held the public hearing on the 2021-2022 budget amendment. With no public comment, the amendment was unanimously approved later in the board meeting. This matter was followed by the usual authorizations, which included the approval of the May consent items, minutes of the April meeting, bills for May, Student Activity and Food Service April Reports.

At the end of each school year the Waukon Middle School staff acknowledges a boy and girl from each of the sixth, seventh and eighth grades for the Middle School Citizenship Award. Students are selected for demonstrating positive attitude, academic excellence, exemplary character, school spirit and community involvement. This year’s recipients are pictured above. Left to right - Front row: Seventh grader Haylee Jeglum, sixth grader Allia Ericson and eighth grader Elle Wilkins; Back row: Sixth grader Marcus Gebel, eighth grader Dylan Stegen and seventh grader Tade McCormick. Submitted photo. Submitted photo.
 

Waukon High School fall musical to be recognized

Feel the energy of hundreds of amazing student performers, representing 85 participating Iowa high schools, as they share highlights from their award-winning school musicals during the 2022 Iowa High School Musical Theater Awards Showcase. Iowa PBS is proud to present an exclusive livestream of the full event on iowapbs.org, Facebook and YouTube Saturday, June 18 at 7 p.m. A 90-minute highlights special will air Monday, July 18 at 8 p.m.

The Waukon High School fall musical “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” has been awarded the “Distinguished Scene Award” from the Iowa High School Musical Theater Awards Program (IHSMTAP) and will be recognized during the June 18 showcase event. All cast, crew and pit band members of the performance were honored with the Distinguished Scene Award for their performance of “Magic Foot” during the production.

Valedictorians or top graduating seniors were honored by KWWL Television and the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) in a ceremony held Saturday, May 21. The students took part in KWWL’s 38th annual “Best of the Class” celebration on the University of Northern Iowa campus in Cedar Falls.

Haley Meyer from Kee High School was selected as a member of the 2022 Best of the Class. Best of the Class students able to attend were videotaped on the UNI campus for a series of public service announcements, which are scheduled to air on KWWL’s Channel 7 during the month of June.

Daniel Wagner, a 2022 graduate of Kee High School in Lansing, was awarded the $2,000 Hammel-Zoll Scholarship for the Holy Family of the Bluffs Catholic Community at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Lansing this year. Wagner is the son of Andy Wagner and Erica Krause-Wagner of Lansing, and he plans to attend Iowa State University in Ames this fall to pursue a career in Mechanical Engineering.
 

Iowa Falls Alden High School senior Jackson Kelsey graduated Sunday, May 22 with summa cum laude honors. His parents are Sara and Kent Kelsey of Iowa Falls, and his grandparents are Debbie and Pastor Ken Kimball of rural Waterville.

Along with earning his Iowa Falls Alden High School diploma with highest honors, Kelsey is a member of the North Central Conference All-Academic Team and received recognition as Top Senior in Language Arts, Foreign Language and Social Studies, among other scholarships and awards. He will be attending Grinnell College  in Grinnell on a Founder’s Scholarship.
 

The Waukon Lions Club hosted its annual Waukon High School Honors Banquet at the First Presbyterian Church in Waukon May 4. Students ranking in the top 15% academically of the Waukon High School graduating class of 2022 were honored. The evening included a meal served by the Presbyterian Women and an inspirational talk by guest speaker Amy Wasson, current High School Counselor of the Allamakee Community School District. The graduates told the audience of their future plans and then were presented certificates by Waukon High School Principal Jennifer Garin and District Superintendent Jay Mathis. Pictured above are the honored students and speaker Amy Wasson. Left to right - front row: Lincoln Snitker, Ashlyn Johnson, Braden Hemann, Brinley Jones, Vicente Quiroz; Back row: Janett Farning, Ella O’Neill, Brenna Berns, guest speaker Amy Wasson, Justine Sullivan, Emily Bieber, Madelyn Helgerson. Submitted photo.