Articles from December 2017

The Dubuque Community School District Teacher of the Year was named at the annual Educators’ Recognition Dinner on May 11, hosted by the Dubuque Education Association.

Chris Burke, a mathematics teacher at Eleanor Roosevelt Middle School, was selected for the honor. Burke has taught at Roosevelt since 2007. “Chris’ true gift as a teacher is his ability to connect with students,” said one of his nominators. “He continuously builds strong relationships with students, creating a learning environment second to none.” Burke holds a bachelor’s degree from Winona State University and a master’s degree from the University of Northern Iowa.

Other finalists for the Teacher of the Year Award were:

• Trica Brokus, a student needs facilitator at Dubuque Senior High School
• Michelle Demuth, a second-grade teacher at Eisenhower Elementary School
• Jennifer Donath, a fifth-grade teacher at Carver Elementary School
• Amanda Goranson, a mathematics teacher at Dubuque Senior High School
• Rich Hatcher, a student needs facilitator at Jefferson Middle School
• Sara Hilby, an art teacher at Hempstead High School
• Joel Miller, a social studies teacher at Hempstead High School
• Kelly Pfohl, a science teacher at Dubuque Senior High School
• Chris Sindt, a science teacher at Washington Middle School

At the dinner, two other special awards were presented. Ed Glaser, principal of Audubon Elementary School, received the TEAM (Together Educators and Administrators Make-it-happen) Award presented to an administrator for exemplary support of teacher success.

Mike Larkin, who taught social studies at Dubuque Senior High School from 1967 through 2001, received the Friend of Education Award. Since retiring, Larkin has continued to be a regular substitute teacher in the district.

The Dubuque Community School District Board of Education voted tonight to approve the appointment of Cindy Steffens as the district’s next director of elementary education and professional learning.

Steffens, who currently serves as principal of Carver Elementary School, will assume the position on July 1. Steffens will succeed Nancy Bradley, who is retiring at the end of the school year after 47 years of service to the district.

As director of elementary education, Steffens will be a member of the district’s senior leadership team and will provide administrative oversight of PreK-5 programming in the district’s 13 elementary schools. This work will include oversight of the district’s elementary curriculum and assessment efforts, as well as planning, coordination and supervision of a comprehensive professional learning program for staff.

Read More about “Carver Elementary School Principal Named District Director of Elementary Education”

The April 2017 edition of Digital Fringe, an online gallery of student art in the Dubuque Community School District, is now live!

View the Middle and High School Gallery

This gallery is a way to highlight the remarkable products of art education in the district. It’s a digital attempt at bringing the work of our student artists at all levels into your home – because art is created for others to take in.

An administrative rule change by the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), Bureau of Immunization, REQUIRES MENINGOCOCCAL (A, C, W, Y) VACCINE FOR STUDENTS ENROLLING IN 7TH AND 12TH GRADES in addition to other vaccination requirements.

STUDENTS IN THESE GRADES MUST HAVE A VALID IMMUNIZATION CERTIFICATE ON FILE TO ATTEND SCHOOL.
Read More about “7th- and 12th-Grade Vaccination Requirement”

To better inform our families about schedule changes, the Dubuque Community School District will begin offering text messaging for weather-related and emergency alerts from the district. The service is offered through School Messenger, the system the district currently uses for mass email messages and automated phone calls.

HERE’S HOW TO BE SURE YOU RECEIVE TEXT MESSAGES:

• On TUESDAY, FEB. 21, between approximately 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. all phone numbers on file for families and staff will receive a text message asking them to opt in.
• If your phone has SMS or text messaging capability, you will receive the initial message.
• When you receive this text, REPLY “Yes” or “Y” to confirm that you’d like to continue receiving text messages.
• That’s it! You will then receive text messages for weather and emergency alerts.
• You can opt out of these text messages at any time by replying to one of our messages with “Stop”.

PLEASE NOTE: The district will only use text messages for weather-related or emergency purposes, not for general district information. Subscribers are responsible for any applicable text messaging charges from their carrier.