Update: Despite the lack of details regarding how the governor’s program would be administered, the Iowa Senate approved the education savings account bill shortly before 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday. The House approved the bill earlier on Monday night. In the Senate, three Republicans joined all the Democrats in voting against the bill. Nine Republicans in […]
Education
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State lawmaker accuses some educators of promoting socialism
An Iowa House subcommittee advanced a bill Wednesday that would require high school teachers to hold class discussion comparing political ideologies “that conflict with the principles of freedom and democracy that were essential to the founding of the United States.” House File 12 specifically mentions communism and totalitarianism. Iowa Rep. Steven Holt, a Republican from […]
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‘Our public schools are not failing, elected officials are failing them’: Iowans opposing voucher bill flood legislature with comments
Since Gov. Kim Reynolds used her Condition of the State address to promote plans to divert funding from public schools to tuition vouchers in the form of “education savings accounts” (ESAs) for students attending private schools, the legislators expected to approve her proposed reforms have been inundated with messages from constituents. Under Senate Study Bill […]
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Speaker Grassley says the governor’s school voucher program won’t pass this year
Gov. Kim Reynolds’ attempt to pressure the Iowa Legislature into passing a bill that diverted public schools funds to private schools has failed. The governor made the creation of a school voucher program using education savings accounts one of her top legislative priorities this year, but on Monday morning Speaker of the Iowa House Pat […]
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From Marvel Comics to Chicago public schools, Eve L. Ewing pursues stories she sees as ‘essential’
When I mentioned that I was interviewing Dr. Eve L. Ewing to Matt Griffin, a Ph.D. student in my Communication Studies department, he recounted a moment that encapsulates her wide-ranging work that spans everything from poetry, comics and academic publishing to a recent novel for young readers, Maya and the Robot. During the 2019 Chicago […]
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Iowa Senate Republicans advance bills to divert tax dollars from public to private schools, require 100% in-person instruction
Republicans in the Iowa Legislature are moving quickly to approve bills that would allow tax dollars that support public schools to be diverted to private schools, and further limit the control local school boards have over the schools in their districts. Gov. Kim Reynolds listed both actions as top priorities in her Condition of State […]
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George Anderson of Cedar Rapids’ Kennedy High School named Iowa Teacher of the Year
For the second time in seven years, a Cedar Rapids teacher has been named Iowa Teacher of the Year. Speaking at a student assembly at Kennedy High School on Wednesday morning, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced George Anderson, who teaches history and is an assistant football coach at the school, has been selected for the award.
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Winners of Iowa City’s 2019 Excellence in Education Awards will be honored in a ceremony Wednesday
After 21 years of presenting its Excellence in Education Awards, the Iowa City Chamber of Commerce is doing something new this year. In partnership with the Iowa City Area Development Group (ICAD), the chamber will be honoring winners in a ceremony at The Englert Theatre on Wednesday evening.
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New report shows big increase in arrests of students at Iowa schools, as well as racial disparities
Iowa saw one of the biggest increases in students arrested at school of any state between the 2013-14 and 2015-16 school years, according to a new report from the ACLU. While arrests of students at schools increased 3 percent nationwide during that period, Iowa saw an increase of 105 percent, going from 601 arrests in […]
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FasTrac’s annual tour of HBCUs and Civil Rights sites helps Iowa City students see the world differently
This year’s FasTrac tour of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and important sites associated with the Civil Rights movement will mark two important anniversaries. In addition to being the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., 2018 is also the 10th anniversary of the first FasTrac tour.
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Iowa has the nation’s highest overall graduation rate again, but some students are still left behind
Iowa had the highest high school graduation rate in the country in 2016, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE). Last year’s graduation rate was 91.3 percent, much higher than the national average of 84.1 percent. The statistics track the on-time graduation rates of students who have attended high schools for four years.
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Historic Iowa City women’s seminary paved the way toward equal access to education
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]I live in a female seminary. It’s an apartment building now, mostly remodeled, but I can imagine the history trapped between the brick walls. I sleep in the same rooms where some of the first young girls in our nation were allowed to educated themselves. I make coffee in the same spot where I imagine […]
