Welcome to the Monticello Community School District!

Greetings from your Superintendent!

Hello everyone, my name is Dr. Brian Jaeger, and I am the proud Superintendent of the Monticello Community School District. If you are new to Monticello let me be the first to welcome you to this amazing community! If you have a student that is continuing in our schools then you may already be aware of the opportunities each student in Monticello has to develop academically, socially, and emotionally.

The opportunities begin with our youngest students, we offer preschool programming to our four-year-old students and limit our class sizes to fourteen. These students are challenged academically by certified preschool teachers and well prepared preschool associates to set the stage for a successful academic career in the Monticello Community School District.

Students that attend at the elementary level are nurtured by some of the most creative, inspiring, and caring individuals you will ever meet. Our elementary teachers work in teams to plan lessons, share instructional strategies, develop assessments, and use real-time data to continually assess student performance. At the elementary level, our students are challenged academically and taught other skills such as fair play, reasoning, collaboration, listening, persistence, and to respect others. If before or after school care is needed we offer the Panther Academy as a resource to families with very busy lives. Panther Academy is a before and after school child care program for school aged students.  Panther Academy students can learn, play, and interact with other students in a nurturing, supervised, and safe environment.

Middle school students are now attending in our newest building. The middle school opened in the fall of 2020 and the school is designed to support all of our 5th – 8th grade students. Students that attend middle school are well prepared to take on a more challenging schedule and are taught by teachers that dive deeply into the subjects they teach. They offer a challenging curriculum and a strong support system to help each student achieve success. In 7th and 8th grade, the students begin exploratory classes to better understand their own interests and begin exploration into careers to better understand their own career strengths and aspirations. They also have the opportunity to participate in a wide variety of extracurricular activities such as athletics, band, and chorus. We encourage participation in extracurricular activities and believe that the lessons learned after school can be as valuable as the lessons learned during the school day.

Students that attend at the high school level have the opportunity to take a wide variety of challenging courses.  The courses at the high school are very rigorous so the high school staff provides a variety of support to students to help them persevere even in the face of the most challenging subjects. We also have an At-Risk Coordinator and School Counselor that closely monitors the progress of each student. Students develop a four-year plan their freshman year and systematically research career opportunities and narrow career interests. By the time students reach their junior and senior year, students have the opportunity to job shadow or take an internship, through community partnerships, in a career area they are interested in. In addition, juniors and seniors can take classes through Kirkwood Community College at no additional cost to parents. The Kirkwood Jones Regional Education Center (JREC) is located in Monticello and they offer a wide-range of academy classes that provide experience and certification in several career areas. The credits earned at the Kirkwood Regional Center are recognized at our in-state colleges and universities and often students begin college with enough credits to be considered a sophomore or junior. In addition to many academic offerings, students have so many extracurricular curricular options available to them. We have many athletic programs that have won conference, district, and state championships. Several students that have participated in athletics in Monticello have gone on to compete athletically at the college level. We also offer award winning programs in band, chorus, FFA, speech, drama, student council, National Honor Society, Business Professionals of America, and other options. Monticello high school graduates are well rounded, ready for college, ready for the workforce, and ready for life after high school.

Even more exciting news…we are a 1:1 technology district.  Every student in the Monticello Community School District has access to a device every day.  In grades K-2, each student will have an iPad to use that is kept in the classroom to recharge each night. In grades 3-4, each student will have a chromebook to use that is kept in the classroom to recharge each night.  In grades 5-12, each student will receive a chromebook at the beginning of the school year and they will use it at home and at school to complete homework and class activities.

For our parents, if you would like to be involved, there are several student support organization opportunities in our district, such as the Monticello School District Foundation, Parent Teacher Organization, Fine Arts Boosters, Athletic Boosters, and Post Prom Committee.  There are other volunteer opportunities in our schools, both in and out of the classroom. We want the Monticello school experience to be enjoyed by the entire family!

Please feel free to contact me anytime if you have questions or just want to say hello.  My email address is brian.jaeger@monticello.k12.ia.us.

Sincerely,

Dr. Brian Jaeger, Superintendent