Education

The suspension and ultimate end to the Allamakee Community School District school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the Spotlight Artist series typically published in Waukon High School’s student newspaper, The Tribune, not to be featured. The Spotlight Artists for the month of April were to be seniors Brady Enyart and Megan Rathbun. Allamakee Community School District art instructor Carlyn Lechtenberg shared that both students have been very dedicated to and active in the art program as they’ve been involved in many, if not all, of the art classes offered in high school, noting that they produced quality work with well thought-out ideas. Mrs. Lechtenberg also said it was very rewarding to see each student’s skill levels improve with each art class they took and project they created.

by Brianne Eilers

The Allamakee Community School District (ACSD) School Board members met for their regular monthly meeting Monday evening, May 18. The meeting featured a full agenda addressing a variety of matters.

In personnel matters, the board approved the following hires, pending a satisfactory background check: Lee Stegen as eighth grade boys basketball coach; Stacie Cooper as elementary school guidance counselor; Lauren Allison as second grade teacher; Ben Rausch as head varsity girls basketball coach; Bob Wasson as ninth grade boys basketball coach; and Ashley Beach as special education teacher. Waukon High School Principal Jen Garin was appointed to the City of Waukon Parks and Recreation Board.

Allamakee-Clayton Rural Electric Cooperative (REC), Postville has awarded area high school graduates with the Hauschild Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship fund was established in 1995 in memory of Robert “Bill” Hauschild by his wife and family.

The scholarship is provided in recognition of Hauschild’s service as a board member, from his election in 1988 until his death March 17, 1993. Scholarships are open to graduating high school seniors in Allamakee-Clayton Electric’s service area and are available to students who are entering a course of study within the electrical field.

Nathan Liddiard, son of Dan and Kelly Liddiard of Waterville, is graduating from Waukon High School this spring and plans to attend Northwest Iowa Community College in Sheldon to study Powerline Technology. The Cooperative awarded Liddiard a $250 scholarship. REC awarded five additional scholarships to students in surrounding communities.
 

The Eastern Allamakee Community School District (EACSD) Board of Directors met in a pair of recent special sessions, one on each side of the start of the month of May, to address the principal vacancy at Kee High School/Middle School in Lansing following the announcement of the retirement of current Kee High School/Middle School Principal Mary Hogan. The board initially met Thursday, April 30 in what ended up being a closed session lasting nearly two hours to review and discuss applicants for the Kee High School/Middle School Principal position.

Nolte, Comman & Johnson P.C., a Certified Public Accounting firm out of Newton, has released an audit report on the Allamakee Community School District in Waukon. A copy of the audit report is available for review on the Auditor of State’s web site at https://auditor.iowa.gov/audit-reports.

The District’s revenues totaled $16,426,392 for the year ended June 30, 2019, a 2.52% increase from the prior year. Expenses for District operations for the year ended June 30, 2019 totaled $16,553,419, which was a 3.99% increase from the prior year. Unrestricted state grants increased $798,899 contributing to the increase in revenues.

The increase in expenses occurred primarily in the support services function.

Alexis Lonning, daughter of 1990 Waukon High School graduate Dale Lonning of Asbury and the late Danielle Heck-Lonning - a 1993 Waukon High School graduate, has been selected by The Des Moines Register among the Academic All-State scholars for the state of Iowa’s Class of 2020. Lonning was one of five students in the 26-county Northeast Iowa region to be named as a Regional Standout by the publication.

Lonning will graduate later this month from Dubuque Hempstead High School, where she ranks at the very top of this year’s graduating class of 415 students. She posted an ACT score of 34 and a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 4.45.

Each spring the Waukon Lions Club hosts its annual Waukon High School Honors Banquet at the First Presbyterian Church in Waukon, recognizing students ranking in the top 15% academically of Waukon High School’s graduating class. This year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the traditional banquet was not able to be held, but the Waukon Lions Club still wants to recognize this year’s 12 Waukon High School graduating seniors from the Class of 2020, listed below in alphabetical order, for their hard work and dedication to academic excellence in ranking within this year’s top 15% of their class:

In response to COVID-19 and the restriction on large gatherings, Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC) will host a virtual commencement ceremony this spring. The recorded ceremony will be broadcast on Facebook LIVE Thursday May 14 at 7 p.m. Students, faculty, staff, families and friends are encouraged to comment and interact during the virtual ceremony broadcast.  A recorded version of the ceremony will also be available at www.nicc.edu.

College administrators determined that the virtual ceremony would provide a timely  celebration of graduates and their achievements. Because it is unclear when large gatherings will be acceptable and social distancing guidelines lifted, the virtual ceremony allows graduates, their families and friends to celebrate this significant milestone in their lives.

by Susan Cantine-Maxson

The regular monthly meeting of the Board of Directors of the Eastern Allamakee Community School District (EACSD) was held at Kee High School in Lansing Monday, April 20. The meeting was called to order by Heather Schulte, Board President. Upon roll call the following board members responded, namely: Tony Becker, Bobbie Goetzinger via Zoom, Melanie Mauss via Zoom, Kelly Mudderman and Heather Schulte. Also present at the meeting were EACSD Superintendent Dr. Dale Crozier, Board Secretary Janet Heiderscheit, Kee High School/Middle School Principal Mary Hogan via Zoom and New Albin Elementary School Lead Teacher Donna Thomas via Zoom.

After the agenda was approved, the usual and customary authorizations were approved. Dr. Crozier was appointed as  the Level I Investigator and the Affirmative Action Coordinator.

Iowa State University Extension and Outreach will offer a two-part online workshop in the spring and fall of 2020 for anyone interested in learning more about identifying and foraging local mushrooms. The first spring workshop will be held May 5 from 6-7 p.m. The workshops will be offered via Zoom. To register go to https://bit.ly/isumushroom2020by the May 1 deadline. The workshops are limited to 300 participants.

The course is free of charge. For questions about online registration, contact Katelyn Brinkerhoff at kbrink@iastate.edu, or Carter Oliver at cpoliver@iastate.edu.