Don’t Miss a Winter Weather Announcement!

Superintendent News & Views

Don’t Miss a Winter Weather Announcement! 

By David Hill, Gladbrook-Reinbeck Superintendent

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all of us at Gladbrook-Reinbeck Schools!  I hope our students are all enjoying their break from school and finding an opportunity to rest and rejuvenate in preparation for their return to school on January 3. 

I’m pleased that we haven’t had had any big snowstorms or ice storms that have disrupted our school schedule yet this school year. It’s always great when we can make it to Christmas break without a weather-related cancellation. Parents, teachers, school administrators and even many students agree – while we don’t like disrupting our schedule and taking away scheduled learning time due to severe weather, we understand that there are times that safety simply must come first. 

While we try to keep disruptions and calendar changes to a minimum, there are times when changing our schedule at the last minute is simply the right thing to do for the safety of all.  Our school district is responsible for transporting hundreds of young people every day. We need to consider the safety of everyone concerned when making the decisions about school cancellations, delays, or early dismissals. 

As Winter progresses, there will be days when decisions of this nature will need to be made. Fortunately, there is no need to sit by the TV or radio waiting to find out if school has been canceled or delayed. Anyone who takes the time to sign up can have real-time notifications sent directly to you on your cellular phone, smartphone, or computer. Gladbrook-Reinbeck utilizes a system called IOWA SCHOOL ALERTS to send an instant text message or email when a decision needs to be announced. Iowa School Alerts is available to anyone who may be interested, whether or not they have children in school. 

If you subscribed to Iowa School Alerts last year or earlier this school year, you don’t need to subscribe again. If you’re unsure whether you’re signed up, did you receive text notifications from the school on August 23 and on September 22?  We used the system to announce early dismissals on those dates (due to a water main break on August 23 and excessive heat on September 22).  If you’re still not sure, it doesn’t hurt to take 60 seconds and sign up again.  The link to subscribe is http://tinyurl.com/GR-Notifications and it takes a minute or less to sign up.

While it’s great that we’ve made it to Christmas break without a snow day, keep in mind that Winter actually just began on December 21 – so there is plenty of time for Mother Nature to hit us hard with snow, extreme temperatures, ice, and reduced visibilities.  Be sure to get signed up for Iowa School Alerts today so you don’t miss out on an important announcement! 

2017 has been a great year for all of us at Gladbrook-Reinbeck Schools – not just weather-wise, but educationally as well. We’re looking forward to another great year in 2018!  I encourage you to visit my blog at https://rebelsupt.blogspot.com/ to keep up-to-date on my activities and opinions as your superintendent in the coming year. You are also welcome to follow me on Twitter (@DavidRobertHill) where I will occasionally post updates, photos, and other information not found on the blog. 

Crayon Corner & Little Rebels Get an A+

Superintendent News & Views

Crayon Corner & Little Rebels Get an A+

By David Hill

Gladbrook-Reinbeck Superintendent

They LOVED us!   They gave us an A+.  Those two statements are a quick and easy way to summarize the Iowa Department of Education’s recent assessment of the 4-year-old preschool programs offered at Crayon Corner and Little Rebels Learning Center, as well as the Early Childhood Special Education classroom at G-R Elementary.  Now, a little more detail… 

As you may be aware, The Gladbrook-Reinbeck Community School District is partnering with Little Rebels Learning Center in Reinbeck and Crayon Corner Learning Center in Gladbrook to offer tuition-free preschool to all qualified 4-year-old students through the Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program. Because this is the program’s second year, a team from the Iowa Department of Education recently visited Gladbrook-Reinbeck to conduct an on-site evaluation of the curriculum, the facilities, the policies, the teaching and support staff, and the services offered to determine whether the programs would be recommended for “verified” status moving into the future.

A preschool program must meet or exceed at least 85% of the state-established criteria in order to achieve “verified” status and to continue as part of the Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program.  We’ve just learned that G-R’s preschool classrooms have all achieved the “verified” status; furthermore, the Department of Education has informed us that our classrooms meet or exceed 100% of the required criteria. 

The Department of Education team commended G-R’s ECSE classroom as well as the preschools at Crayon Corner and Little Rebels for their strong collaboration with community partners, the caring and devoted teaching staff, and the high-quality professional development offered to staff.  They noted the fact that all three teachers not only have the PK General Education endorsement, but also the PK Special Education endorsement as an additional strength of G-R’s program. They pointed out exemplary practices in curriculum, family communication and involvement, and promoting positive behavior among students. 

This is truly something to celebrate!  In laymen’s terms, these preschool classrooms not only “passed the test,” they earned an “A+.”  When I served as a principal in another district that went through this same type of evaluation process a few years ago, we also “passed the test” but were required to complete several “corrective action plans” to address certain criteria that were not quite met.  When the Department of Education staff visited G-R recently, they told me that it is quite rare for a preschool site visit not to require at least one corrective action plan as a follow-up…and that Crayon Corner, Little Rebels, and G-R Elementary should be very proud of this accomplishment.  

Many people deserve credit for this accomplishment. First and foremost, the credit goes to the teachers in our preschool classrooms who work tirelessly each day to provide positive learning experiences for our students. They also had the burden of providing documentation for of the criteria observed by the Department of Education team.  To Jennifer Smith at Crayon Corner, Lindsey Harbaugh at Little Rebels, and Samantha Formanek at G-R Elementary…we salute your efforts!  These teachers are backed and supported by amazing preschool board members, hard-working classroom associates, a dedicated elementary principal, and others who help to provide an environment for learning, growth, and improvement to occur. I want to thank the visionary leaders in each community who originally saw the need for providing comprehensive daycare, before & after school care, and preschool programs and worked together to make our early childhood centers possible.

Gladbrook-Reinbeck recognizes the importance of early childhood education and is committed to providing outstanding early childhood learning experiences. We understand that the youngest citizens in our school district represent the future of G-R, and the future of our communities. The tuition-free preschool programs offered at Crayon Corner and Little Rebels are just one component of the district’s commitment to early childhood education.

Both Crayon Corner and Little Rebels also offer quality daycare services, before-and-after-school care, and 3-year-old preschool programs in addition to their outstanding tuition-free programming for 4-year-olds. Within the Gladbrook-Reinbeck elementary building, we also offer special education services for those students who qualify, starting at age 3. Our elementary center is also proud to offer a Transitional Kindergarten class designed for students who meet the age criteria for kindergarten, yet lack the readiness kindergarten requires. For more information on all of these early childhood opportunities, see my blog post from last April entitled, “G-R’s Commitment to Early Childhood Education” at https://tinyurl.com/EarlyChildhoodGR. 

I’m proud to be the superintendent in a school district and school community that understands the importance of early childhood learning.  City leaders in Gladbrook and Reinbeck, as well as school district leaders and members of the public have invested tremendous public and private resources, along with a great deal of effort and “sweat equity,” into the district’s early childhood opportunities – indicating that they see Crayon Corner, Little Rebels, and the other components our early childhood system to be an investment in the future of our young people, our school district, and our communities.  I invite your questions and feedback.  Just visit my blog at https://rebelsupt.blogspot.com/ or follow me on Twitter (my handle is @DavidRobertHill) to get the conversation started.