Hello everyone!
Here is my video for the week, or scroll down for a quick summary.
Have a great weekend! GO PANTHERS!
Brian Jaeger, Superintendent
The Family STEM Festival is coming up on October 8th from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the Youth Development Center. The event will feature hands-on activities related to science, technology, engineering, and math. He encouraged families to put it on their calendars, particularly if their children are interested in STEM. Robin Ponder, Curriculum Director, will be featured in next week’s video to provide more information about the event.
School safety remains an ongoing, year-round focus, rather than something addressed only at the beginning of the school year. This week, the administrative team reviewed the district’s Emergency Operations Plan. School Resource Officer Eric Honda met with the administrative team to begin planning opportunities for him to work directly with staff and students in classrooms on safety training. The district is continuing regular emergency preparedness exercises, including fire drills, tornado/weather drills, and bus evacuations. He emphasized that regular practice is an important part of being prepared and staying safe.
The Iowa Legislature passed a law limiting K–5 student screen time to 60 minutes per day. District staff are currently being introduced to the requirements. The district will bring its related policy to the school board for a first reading next week. Staff will review how much technology is currently being used in K–5 classrooms and make adjustments if necessary. He emphasized that technology is not the primary focus of instruction in Monticello. He said classrooms generally include substantial face-to-face, interactive, and hands-on learning, with Chromebooks and iPads used as learning tools rather than as the center of instruction. The district also plans to conduct its own analysis/meta-analysis of current K–12 research on screen time to compare the research with the district’s existing classroom practices. While the new law currently addresses K–5, the district is also interested in understanding the research for grades 6–12, even though there isn’t currently a comparable state requirement for those grades.