RTL Update – Cohort Group Emails Sent / Tech Device Distribution
School Board Meeting (August 28, 2020) The school board will hold a special board meeting tonight at 5:30 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/83762585724 Cohort Groups / Student’s Teacher Today, emails were sent out indicating student cohort groups and teachers. Student schedules were also available for Ames High and Ames Middle School. Please check your Infinite Campus Parent Portal.
Read moreRTL Update – Cohort Groups / Device Pickup
When will I know what day of the week my kid goes to school? As the online request form closed last week Friday, we are working to roster students within our student information system, Infinite Campus. We are finalizing that process this week and will communicate which cohort group your student will attend to start the school year along with their teacher (elementary) on Friday, August 28. Ames Middle School and Ames High School will release student schedules on Friday as well.
Read moreRTL Update – School Board Statement on the Importance of Local Control
Here is the latest information around Return to Learn for the 2020-2021 school year. Department of Education Permission for Phased-In Hybrid Denied The Ames Community School District requested permission from the Department of Education (DE) to begin the school year in a “phased-in” hybrid delivery model and it has been denied. We are continuing to work with the DE to understand what options are available to us and how instructional hours completed during the “phased-in” time period will contribute to the overall total.
Read moreSchool 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 moreTeam Neutrino: #morethanrobots
Team Neutrino’s social media accounts often use the hashtag #omgrobots. It’s a fun tag to posts that communicates the light-heartedness of the organization while also serving as a reminder that these students BUILD ROBOTS! In its simplest form, Team Neutrino is organized to compete in robotics competitions. But it would be a mischaracterization and a disservice to leave it at that. Although robotics is the face of the organization, it is only a fraction of the work they do. The reality is that student members, along with their mentors and community partners, function like a well-rounded business.
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
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