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Vol. 51 No. Norwalk, Iowa 50211
USPS No. 395-120
Phone 981 -0406
email: news@ norwalknewspapemom Thursday, February 14, 201 9
Norwalk Community School
District Receives Counseling
Program Recognition
Norwalk Community School District has been
named a District of Distinction by the Iowa School
Counselors Association (ISCA). This designation
recognizes school districts that are committed to
implementing comprehensive school counseling
programs which address the career, academic, and
social-emotional development of all students.
The school counseling program at Norwalk CSD is
led by Melissa Smith, Rachel Chapman, Jan Jensen,
Sonya Chittenden, Marla Frantum, Sarah Adams,
and Chad Wiedmann.
To receive this designation, school counselors must
complete an extensive application documenting all
aspects of their counseling program across the entire
school district, showing their commitment to students
through best practices for school counseling
programs, utilizing state and national standards.
This distinction recognizes those school counselors
who have committed to reflective practices and
districts that support"& comprehensive‘school ‘
counseling program as an integral part of the
educational experience for all students.
“This year’s District of Distinction recipients
exemplify the collaborative nature of school
counselors in impacting student success,” said Sheryl
Cline, ISCA President-Elect. “The recognition
. encourages school counselors across Iowa to continue
to strive for excellence.”
This year is the inaugural year for ISCA’s District
of Distinction and Norwalk CSD is one of four
districts in Iowa receiving the recognition this year.
Recipients are announced during National School
Counseling Week (Feb. 4 — 8, 2019) and will be
recognized in person by their peers at ISCA’s annual
conference in November.
To learn more about the Iowa School Counselor
Association and this recognition, visit www.iowa
schoolcounselors.org
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Preschool‘Op‘tionis in N orwalk
Two upcoming events are being planned for
Norwalk families to learn about preschool options:
An Early Childhood Fair will be held Saturday,
February 16th from 9:00 11:00 am. in the Oviatt
Elementary School cafeteria. All local preschool
programs will be present to answer questions and
share information about their programs. The
Norwalk Public Library, Parks & Rec, ISU Extension
services, and AEA will also be present to share
services and supports for preschool families.
An Open House will be held Tuesday, February
26th from 5:00 — 7:00 p.111. The universal preschool
partnership preschool programs (Norwalk Christian
Academy, Serendipity, Crayons2Pencils, Lil Hands
Big Dreams, and Oviatt Preschool) will host open
houses where you can visit each program to see their
facilities, meet staff, and have questions answered.
You are welcome to visit one or all. We have
scheduled a “snow day” for Thursday, Feb. 28th from
5-7 p.m. if weather is not cooperating on the 26th.
Judy Corcoran Honored as Norwalk Chamber’s
Citizen of the Year
Judy Corcoran was chosen as the Norwalk
Chamber of Commerce Citizen of the Year, and was
honored at the annual chamber banquet held on
January 25th at Echo Valley Country Club.
Judy Corcoran is described as one who “failed in
her plan to quit volunteering.” Today she’s proudly
Norwalk’s Citizen of the Year, based largely on her
active volunteerism in the community, according to
the Norwalk Area Chamber of Commerce. But when
Judy retired from Wells Fargo and moved to Norwalk
in 2012, she told friends she was no longer going to
be a “super volunteer” after years of serving on
numerous boards and projects.
She also vowed she wouldn’t do anything similar
to her 40-year career in news reporting and corporate
public relations, events and communications. That
lasted only six months before she offered to create
press releases for a small fundraising project. Then
in 2013 she applied for an open position on the board
of trustees of the N orwalk Easter Public Library. “I’m
a dedicated library user so I thought the trustee role
meant discussing favorite books for the Library to
purchase,” she said. “Instead, I’ve learned that as
trustees we discuss everything from HVAC systems
to power surges to patron online access to programs
to encourage kids to read.”
Her desire to meet more people in the community
soon led to other volunteer roles, often with young
people. She began reading weekly with a third grader
through Everybody Wins Iowa which pairs students
with a reading mentor for books and conversation.
Since then Corcoran has read dozens of books with
students at Lakewood Elementary School and is
especially proud that her Bristol Street neighborhood
now sends six volunteer readers to Lakewood every
Thursday.
More kids entered her life when Corcoran returned
to teaching 4th grade religion in the weekly Parish
Religious Education Program at St. John the Apostle
Catholic Church. “Fourth graders are a lively and
very curious group,” she says. “I’ve learned so much
just trying to keep a step ahead of their questions.”
The PREP role led to involvement in the parish’s
Vacation Bible School which she has coordinated
since 2013.
Her volunteerism moved into high gear in 2018
when at one point she had 10 volunteer roles, each
signified by its own three-ring binder on her
bookshelves. She asked to be involved in the new
Norwalk Hometown Pride committee but almost left
the first meeting as she wasn’t sure she was a good
fit, She was nudged into the official group photo
which meant she had to stay involved. “I’m so glad I
did because Hometown Pride has led to friendships
and involvement in several rewarding projects,
especially Norwalk Music Fest, our first full—day
outdoor music event ‘onga ‘ver'y rainy day last
September,” she says. “Our committee is pumped to
do it again and we’ve already started planning the
next one: Sunday, September lst, at Warrior Run.”
Corcoran credits her own street for another
Hometown Pride project that helped her earn Citizen
of the Year recognition by the Chamber: Front Porch
N orwalk, three summer evenings which encouraged
residents to gather on porches, driveways or lawns
to get to know their neighbors. Corcoran knew of
research that showed residents of many communities
don’t know their neighbors because houses are
designed without front porches. Her own Bristol
Street has had informal Tuesday gatherings for six
summers so she took the idea to Norwalk Chief of
Police Greg Staples who saw the events as a way to
promote public safety. Volunteers Christie Petersen
and Kelsi Messer joined the project and by summer’s
end more than 80 homes hosted the informal
gatherings which drew visits from Norwalk Police
Officers, City Council members and other city
officials. The three have already set dates for Front
Porch Norwalk 2019 — June 18th, July 9th and
August 5th — and will again be working with Chief
Staples and the men and women of the Police
Department.
Now she’s working on another idea to foster
communication in "the community. “I hope we can
make it happen because Norwalk has a great story
to share with Central Iowa about a community
coming together amid rapid growth and its citizens
getting to know one another,” she says. “I’m proud
that we could share that message from front porches
all over the city and we’ll do it again in 2019.”
Information for this article was provided by the
Norwalk Chamber of Commerce.
orwolk
Area Chamber at
