Class Schedules

Session VI - Education

	Apr 8, 2010 - Apr 9, 2010
	Dubuque
	Kay Neumann-Thomas
	(515) 235-0564
	kthomas@iowaabi.org

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Dubuque, a city rich in education tradition, hosted the April Leadership Iowa 2009-10 session. The class met April 8-9 in this northeast Iowa city to learn about the many issues revolving around our state’s education system. Chad Huntington (LI 2006-07) of AY McDonald Manufacturing, Mary Lawyer (LI 2000-01) Conlon Construction, Tori Richter (LI 2000-01) of American Trust Savings Bank, Susie Ritts  (LI 1995-96) Community Volunteer, and Chad Wolbers (LI 2000-01) Finley Hospital, planned an informative and active session that encompassed a variety of educational topics.

A.Y. McDonald Mfg. Company hosted early arrivals on Wednesday evening by opening up their plant for tours. Sarah McDonald Hasken (LI 2004-05), ABI Vice Chair and Vice President Corporate Secretary of A.Y. McDonald Mfg. Co. and Andy Shea (LI 2009-10) warmly welcomed the group. A.Y. McDonald is a leading manufacturer of Waterworks Brass, Plumbing Valves, Pumps and Water Systems and High Pressure Gas Valves and Meter Bars. The company has distinguished itself with a proud tradition of quality and reliability since its founding in 1856.

Thursday’s schedule allowed the class to meet on three of Dubuque’s higher educational campuses including campus tours by trolley transportation. Clarke College was the setting for the morning portion, with a welcome by Clarke College’s President, Sister Joann Burrows. Burrows talked about the excellent education Dubuque offers:

• Three (3) private faith based colleges
• 29 Private Institutions
• In the 1970’s Clarke went from all girls to coed.
• In 1984 the center of campus burned to the ground and since then enrollment has doubled and the college has rebuilt the 5 buildings and added 3 more.
• Health Science – very comprehensive major piece for the college as well as providing adult education programs.
• Small colleges have to be responsive

Dubuque Mayor Ron Buol next described many of the exciting things happening in Dubuque and among them, a new partnership with IBM creating over 1,000 new jobs. The Chamber of Commerce has also received a 5-Star Accreditation which is the only one given in Iowa.

The LI Linkage group did a fantastic job in showing the rich history of Dubuque, highlighting the educational, manufacturing, religious and community details that make it a unique Iowa town:  

·         Iowa’s oldest city

·         Dubuque known as the Key City

·         Americas River Project – $188 million, now $400 million revitalization project

·         Have won many awards – 2008 Best livable small town

·         18 colleges in the Region

·         Sustainable Dubuque – environment integrity, social cultural vibrancy, economic prosperity

·         AccessDubuque.Com – website for jobs; 11th nationally in job growth

Galen Howsare, VP of Administration and Finance at Hawkeye Community College started educational themes of the session. Galen’s focus was financing education in Iowa.  He talked about enrollment, equalization, allowable growth, balance, employees, and restricted funds. He went over what comes out of the general fund verus what is used by the property taxes. Most of a school’s budget is driven by the number of students they have and it becomes very complex because the funding is then always a year behind.

 

The University of Dubuque was the next college visited. After a brief trolley tour, classmates were graciously received by President Dr. Jeffery Bullock. Following Dr. Bullock’s welcome, a panel discussion was held regarding the true realities of budgeting and funding in Iowa’s school districts. Panelists included Deb Massey of Holy Family School Systems and Jeff Corkery of Western Dubuque Community School District. The panel was moderated by Doug Horstmann (LI 1994-95) of Dubuque Bank & Trust. The panelists had interesting and differing perspectives. Holy Family Schools is a private school system, completely funded on tuition and private donors. Western Dubuque Community School District deals with issues in state funding while also having the largest district in land area, which brings about additional challenges.

The lunch keynote speaker was Scott McLeod of Iowa State University’s CASTLE program. Scott’s presentation was fast paced and interactive, which coincided with his message: the state of Iowa currently runs their schools in a way similar to that of the 1800’s. Iowa’s class rooms have one teacher with classroom style seating, using little technology in teaching methods. He argued that classes need to be fast paced and interactive, similar to the rest of the world we live in. Scott also discussed the schools that have already implemented 1:1 laptops in their classrooms, changing the way their classrooms are run and bringing their school districts into the 21^st century. He hopes other districts will soon follow, helping to move Iowa’s educational system in line with many other technology driven states.

An “Innovative Initiatives in Education” panel spoke about their respective organizations. Kristin Woodward created Two by Two, a Midwest-based nonprofit organization formed by educators who saw a critical need to restore a culture of character within our society. Two by Two uses personal stuffed animals given to elementary school students to teach the importance of character. Chris Olson is the Executive Director of the Four Mounds HEART program which provides vocational construction training and education through the complete rehabilitation of blighted properties in Dubuque. John Woodin recently retired from Prescott Elementary, one of 10 charter schools in Iowa. Prescott Elementary, once a broken school, now concentrates on Fine Arts/Outward Bound/Expediation and Exploration. Each panelist had interesting and unique ways of educating today’s youth, making for an exciting panel discussion.

Loras College was the final stop for Thursday’s programming. The class was welcomed to campus by Loras President Jim Collins at their state of the art Athletic and Wellness Center. President Collins then joined a panel comprised of  Jack Becker , The Hall-Perrine Foundation; MJ Dolan (LI 1991-92), Iowa Association of Community College Trustees; Dr. Katie Mulholland, Superintendent, Linn Mar Community Schools and moderated by Mary Lawyer (LI 2000-01), Conlon Construction. The panel discussion focused on the state and future of education in Iowa, specifically the impact of educational institutions.

Following the panel and a brief class discussion, class members met with local business leaders during a networking reception at Loras College and again met with area young professionals and business people later at the Hotel Julien. Dinner and entertainment was provided at Diamond Jo Casino.

Friday, April 9, 2010

The final day of the session was held at Northeast Iowa Community College, the fourth educational institution visited during our time in Dubuque. The class was welcomed by Curt Oldfield, Vice President of Academic Affairs for Northeast Iowa Community College.

Roundtable discussions were held next to learn about various statewide education initiatives and innovative partnerships between educational institutions and Iowa businesses. Participants included: Jenny Becker, Rockwell Collins (LI 2008-09) with Project Lead the Way and Rockwell’s other business/education partnerships; Wendy Wheelock, NICC Town Clock Center for Professional Development speaking on Dubuque Works; Rebecca Whitaker, University of Iowa College of Engineering informing the class on the Iowa Mathematics & Science Education (STEM) and outreach programs including First Tech Challenge; and Hope Bossard, Gilbert Schools discussing Iowa Core Curriculum/21st Century Skills and Authentic Intellectual Work.         

Friday’s panel discussion proved to be an exciting debate between differing viewpoints. Participants included moderator: Michael Breitbach (LI 2007-08), Trans Star Trucking Co; Connie Maxson, Iowa Assoc. of School Boards; Matt Carver, School Administrators of Iowa; Jim Hawkins, Professional Educators of Iowa; Bob Brown, Iowa State Education Association. Discussions included Race to the Top versus No Child Left Behind, alternate solutions to funding school districts and the Iowa Association of School Boards issues based on oversight. Tensions between panelists were high, fueled by thought provoking questions from LI class members.

Following lunch and several Five Minutes of Fame, LI Linkage divided the class into groups. Each group was given a poster size sheet of paper and Post It notes. Their task was to come up with educational reform ideas and to then choose a few that could actually be implemented in the near future. Ideas included: restructure teacher pay, redeveloping the curriculum; -training and technology (build in); year round school. The class decided to explore the possibility of taking on a class project in this area. They are still brainstorming and plan to do some research to decide their plan of action. The Linkage activity recapped the many educationally focused topics of the session as did a brief class discussion prior to adjourning for the month.