Henry May: Ames’ First School Teacher (1829-1919)
Henry May is known as the first teacher of Ames Schools. Originally from Connecticut, May came to Ames in the spring of 1866 when the population was reported to have been 100. He bought 11.5 acres of bare prairie for $346.20 on the land that is now Mary Greeley Medical Center between 9th and 13th Streets and Douglas and Duff Avenues. He built one of the first houses in the area.
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New Quarantine Guidance / Mask Wearing
On Tuesday, September 29th, Governor Reynolds and the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) released new quarantine guidance for COVID-19. This change impacts situations where both the person positive for COVID-19 and those in close contact with them (less than six feet for greater than 15 minutes) were wearing masks. This change differs from current CDC guidance, which states individuals in close contact with someone with COVID-19 should quarantine for 14 days following the exposure, regardless of whether masks were worn.
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New Parent Absence Reporting Online Form
Regular attendance is an essential part of the educational program for each student in our District. To report your child absent, please utilize the option that works best for you; either call the school or use our new online absence reporting form. You can report the absence any time before 9:15 A.M the day your child is out. The new absence reporting form includes questions about your child’s illness symptoms, if they have had a COVID-19 test, or if they have been identified as a close contact of someone with COVID-19. The most important thing you can do to help stop the spread of COVID-19 in our schools is to keep your child home when they are sick.
Read moreRTL Update – Hybrid Model Begins Monday
Hybrid Instructional Model to Begin Monday Last night, the Ames School Board approved to move to the 50% face-to-face hybrid instructional model beginning on Monday, September 21. This also includes the restart of extracurricular activities. Cohort Group - Prior to the start of school when we anticipated starting in a “Phased-In” Hybrid model, students were assigned to a cohort group 1-4. Those same groups will be used for the 50% hybrid model with groups 1/2 and 3/4 being combined.
Read moreRTL Update – Delivery Model Transition Requests
Here is the latest information around Return to Learn for the 2020-2021 school year. School Board Meeting (September 14, 2020) The school board will hold a regularly scheduled meeting tonight at 6:30 p.m. The meeting can be found at the Zoom URL below or streamed on our YouTube Channel. https://ames-k12-ia-us.zoom.us/j/86849490767
Read moreRTL Update – Court Decision on Temporary Stay
Here is the latest information around Return to Learn for the 2020-2021 school year. Court Decision on Temporary Stay for Extracurriculars Today, a judge in Story County denied the Ames Community School District’s motion for a temporary stay of enforcement that relates directly to students' non-participation in extracurricular activities. As a District, we are currently in a two-week window of 100% online continuous learning due to COVID-19 metrics in Story County and per Department of Education guidance, we are not permitted to engage students in extracurricular activities. Our goal in asking for the temporary stay was to allow students to participate in extracurricular activities while in the online model. As the motion was denied, extracurricular activities will continue to be suspended through next week. The school board will hold a meeting on Thursday, September 17 to determine the next delivery model.
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John Sletten (1931-2020) – Ames High Track Coach
Former Ames High track & field head coach John Sletten is a legend. For 43 years, he built a championship tradition for the Little Cyclones that is unrivaled, and today, the track at Ames High Stadium is named in his honor. Mr. Sletten passed away the morning of September 8 after battling a brain tumor. He was 88 years old.
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Ames High will Compete Against Urbandale with No Crowd on Friday, September 4
Given the current COVID-19 positivity rate across Story County, we have made the decision as a District to host Friday night’s football game against Urbandale with no crowd. This means no band, student section, or walk-up tickets. Leading into this decision, we planned for this night with a wide-range of mitigation steps that included vastly limiting crowd numbers. As we have progressed throughout this week, we know that those steps are not enough for our community and county. The only individuals that will be permitted to attend the game are key event staff and parents/guardians of senior cheer and football players to participate in the previously scheduled senior night recognition (masks required).
Read moreRTL Update – Required Continuous Learning
School Board Approves the Recommendation to Start the School Year in Required Continuous Learning Last evening, the school board voted unanimously to begin the 2020-21 school year in a 100% off-site Required Continuous Learning delivery model due to the rapidly increasing COVID-19 positivity rates in our community. This decision was based on the COVID-19 positivity rates in our community. On Monday, the 14-day positivity rate was 21.1%, which exceeds not only our local metrics but those outlined by the Department of Education.
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Revised 2020-2021 School Year Calendar Approved (August 28, 2020)
As a result of the ongoing pandemic due to the coronavirus, and in order to return to school safely, we have made slight changes to next year’s calendar. The easiest way to understand these changes is to know that outside of the federal holidays indicated below, every other day in our calendar will be a student contact day, giving teachers and students increased opportunities for instruction. A special thank you to the Ames Teacher’s Union for working collaboratively on these changes.
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