PageVTe‘ii f"
I NIWmen‘Town and County News
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Teen Driver Safety
Tire Rack Street Sur-
vival® Teen Driving
School will be at the Iowa
Speedway, 3333 Rusty
Wallace Dr, Newton, Sun-
day, Oct. 4; 8 a.m. — 5 pm.
Car crashes are. the lead-
ing killer of American
teens from ages 15 — 20,
with more than 5,000 teens
involved in a fatal crash
each year and an addi-
tional 196,000 injured.
Tire Rack Street Sur-
vival® is a 501c3 organiza-
tion and is the largest ac-
tive non-profit national
driver education program
that teaches teens the skills
they need to stay alive be-
hind the wheel. Unlike tra-
ditional driver’s education
programs based on class-
room theory and simple
maneuvers, the Tire Rack
Street Survival® program
improves driver compe-
tence through hands-on
experiences in real-world
driving situations.
Students will receive a
I short classroom session
A and thenwillleam, hands-
on, how to manage every-
day driving hazards, ob-
stacles and challenges in a
controlled environment on
an advanced driving
course to ultimately ’ar-
rive alive.’
' Students learn emer-
gency braking and skid
control, how to control
proper braking, and how
to avoid, accidents en-
tirely. In select schools, in
addition to spending time
in the driver’s seat of
parked 18-wheeler to fully
comprehend its massive
blind spots, teenagers wit-
ness the violent detonation
of an air bag, which rein-
forces proper hand place-
ment on the steering
wheel.
Students are taught in
their own cars, not spe-
cially prepared program
vehicles, so the skills they
learn can be directly trans-
lated to their daily driving
experiences. Tire Rack
Street Survival® chal-
lenges teenagers to un-
derstand how to control a
vehicle, rather than just
operate one.
Tire: Rack Street Sur-
vival® is open to licensed
and permitted drivers ages
15 —21. Forms, schedules
and more information can
be found online at
www.streetsurviva1.0rg.
The cost is $75 per student
and some insurance com-
panies offer premium dis-
counts to graduates.
Larry Hughes
BLACK GOLD REALTY
Building for Sale
1400 Sunset Drive.
Business is NOT for Sale.
BUILDING ONLY! - $95,000
Approximately 1,284 sq. ft.
Lot: 90' x 142'; 12,780 sq. ft.
2015 No Child Left Behind Results
Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise
today said this year’s report on student performance
under the federal No Child Left Behind law reflects a
flawed system of school accountability rather than the
work of Iowa’s classrooms, and he expressed optimism
that a long-overdue revision of the federal law is on the
horizon.
More Iowa schools and districts fell short of annual
targets set through No Child Left Behind and more were
identified as “in need of assistance” based on student
performance on state tests taken during the 2014-15
school year, according to the 2015 State Report Card for
No Child Left Behind, released today.
"We know the majority of our schools and districts
are not failing,” Wise said. "While Ibelieve in account—
ability and high expectations, states and schools deserve
a system that drives student learning and is based on
improvement.”
While most states have obtained a waiver from com-
ponents of No Child Left Behind, Iowa must continue
to follow the federal law until it is reauthorized.
"I am optimistic that the Congressional efforts un-
der way to overhaul No Child Left Behind will bring
much-needed relief to Iowa,” Wise said. "We need a
system of accountability that sets clear parameters While
allowing flexibilityto meet educational goals that make
sense for individual states.”
Adequate Yearly Progress Results
No Child Left Behind requires public schools and
districts to meet targets for "Adequate Yearly Progress”
(AYP) for the overall student population and for demo-
graphic subgroups of students in grades 3—8 and 11.
These subgroups include socio-economic status, limited
English proficiency, race/ethnicity and special educa-
tion.
Schools must meet all targets in every student group
to meet AYP and must test 95 percent of students in each
group. This means that an entire school can miss AYP
based on the performance of a few students.
The percentage of students required to meet grade-
.level standards in reading and mathematics has in—‘ .
creased over time. In Iowa, the target proficiency rate
climbed from 80 percent in 2011-12 to 94 percent in 2012-.
13 to 100 percent in 2013-14 and 2014-15.
Results from the State Report Card show 1,090 of
1,336 public schools (81.6 percent) missed AYP for test '
participation or proficiency in reading and mathemat-
ics in the 2014-15 school year. A total of 147 of 338 school
districts (43.5 percent) missed AYP in 2014-15.
Schools and Districts "In Need of Assistance”
Schools and districts that do not meet AYP targets in
either the "all students” group or any one of the demo-
graphic subgroups within the required grade spans in
reading or math for two years in a row are identified as
"in need of assistance.” Districts and schools remain "in
need of assistance” until they have met AYP for two
consecutive years.
Based on 2014-15 performance, 874 of Iowa’s 1,336
public schools (65.4 percent) were identified as "in need
of assistance." This is an increase of 11 percent from the
54.4 percent identified the year before.
A total of 50 of 338 school districts (14.8 percent) were
identified as districts in need of assistance based on stu-
dent performance in the 2014-15 school year. This is up
from the 13 percent of districts identified the year be-
fore.
Public schools that receive federal Title I funding and
are identified as “in need of assistance” face conse-
quences under No Child Left Behind. The consequences
associated with various stages of "in need of assistance”
are available on the Iowa Department of Education’s
website (the files are marked "SINA and DINA
Timelines").
The 2015 State Report Card is available on the Iowa
Department of Education's website: httpszl/
www.educateiowa.gov/documents/state—report-card/
2015/09/state-report-card-no-child-left-behind-2014-
2015. '
515-681-6310
Application Process for Teach
Iowa Scholar Program
Iowa College Aid today announced the start of the
application process for the 2015-16 Teach Iowa Scholar
program. The Teach Iowa Scholar program helps meet
the needs of Iowa schools by awarding up to $20,000 to
teachers who graduated in the top 25 percent of their
teacher preparation programs and who teach in state-
designated shortage subjects.
To be eligible for a Teach Iowa Scholar award, a
teacher must meet the following criteria: Completed a
teacher preparation program on or after January 1, 2013;
Graduated in the top 25 percent of his or her teacher
preparation program (teachers who graduated from an
out-of—state college are eligible); Be under contract dur—
ing the 2015—16 school year at an Iowa school, teaching
in a shortage field (a list of such fields can be found
here); and Submit a Teach Iowa Scholar application by
November 20, 2015.
Karen Misjak, executive director of the Iowa College
Student Aid Commission, said that the Teach Iowa
Scholar program is a win-win for both new teachers and
the state. , ,
"The Teach Iowa Scholar program incentives young
people to consider teaching as a profession and to start
1 their careers in Iowa,” said Misjak. "The program is an
investment in Iowa's future and has the added benefit
of reducing the burden of student loan debt for our new
teachers.”
Eligible teachers may receive awards up to $4,000 per
year up to five years, not to exceed $20,000 total. Teach-
ers selected for the program will receive their payments
in June, 2016, after employment for the 2015-16 school
year has been confirmed. Payment can be made in the
form of: V
*A lump-sum payment toward the teacher ’5 outstand-
ing federal student loan balance; or
*A lump sum payment to the individual teacher. Pay-
ments issued to individual teachers are considered tax—
able income and the State of Iowa will issue a 1099 MISC
for tax-filing purposes. , .
Interested teachers can find a detailed list of the
teacher shortage fields, including required endorse-
ments, as well as begin the Teach Iowa Scholar applica-
tion process at Iowa College Aid’s website (https://
,www.iowacollegeaid.gov/teachiowascholar).
Great Iowa Ti'easure Hunt Gears Up
for Fall Publication
BAMBlNO'S RESTAURANT
2025 Grand Ave., West Des Moines
20th Anniversary!
1995-2015
COME CELEBRATE WITH US.
Tues: Discounted homemade fried chicken
Wed: Half-off pizza
Thurs: AII-you-can-eat spaghetti, no cork fee'
Tues-Fri, 11 a.m. to close; Sat, 4 pm. to close
225-4842
State Treasurer Michael
L. Fitzgerald’s Great Iowa
Treasure Hunt’s fall publi-
cation is scheduled to be
released soon. "The up-
cOming publication has
the most up-to-date un-
claimed property listings
in the Great Iowa Treasure
Hunt, so make sure to
search, even if you’ve
checked before. A lot of
Iowans may be pleasantly
surprised,” said
Fitzgerald. "You may also
search for your name any
time by visiting Great
IowaTreasureHunt.gov."
The Great Iowa Trea-
sure Hunt program has
returned over $198 million
in unclaimed property to
more than'468,000 indi-
viduals since Fitzgerald
started it in 1983. Un-
claimed property refers to
money and other assets
held by financial institu-
tions or companies that
have lost contact with the
property’s owner for a spe-
cific period of time. State
law requires these institu-
tions and companies to
annually report and de-
liver unclaimed property
to the state treasurer’s of-
fice, where it is held until
the owner or heir of the
property is found. Com-
mon forms of unclaimed
property include savings
or checking accounts,
. stocks, uncashed checks,
life insurance policies, util-
ity security deposits, safe
deposit box contents and
many other types of prop-
erty.
Visit the Great Iowa Trea—
sure Hunt at
GreatIowaTreasureHuntgov
tobegin your search Be sure
to like Great Iowa Treasure
Hunt on Facebook and fol-
low the program on Twitter
(@GreatIATreasure).
' Grimes,
PHOTO PRINTING
is a full commercial printer.
Call us for your flyers,
letterhead, envelopes,
brochures, magazines,
newsletters, books, etc.
Photo Printing, Inc.
210 S. 1st St., Carlisle, IA 50047
515-989-3251
Cultural
Enrichment
Grant
The Iowa Architectural
Foundation (IAF) is
pleased to announce it has
been awarded a Cultural
Enrichment Grant by Bra-
vo Greater Des Moines for
fiscal year 2016.
The Iowa Architectural
Foundation's $3,500 award
will be used to support the
Foundation in develop-
ment of a new responsive
website. For the past two
years, the Foundation has
been awarded the same
Cultural Enrichment
Grant which has been used
to enhance the Founda-
tion’s architectural sum-
mer walking tours
through a mobile website
and tablet purchase. This
year’s grant will expand
on these accomplishments
by further enhancing the
Foundation’s online pres-
ence and available online
resources.
The Iowa Architectural
Foundation has contracted
with Iuicebox Interactive
to create the new website.
The new site will be avail-
able to the public in 2016.
The Iowa Architectural
Foundation is one of 60
Central Iowa arts, culture
and, heritage organiza-
tions awarded Cultural
Enrichment Grants by Bra-
vo Des Moines for fiscal
year 2016. Cultural Enrich-
ment Grants support the
operations, programs, ac-
tivities and educational
events of eligible arts, cul-
ture and heritage organi-
zations based in Central
Iowa. Sixteen partner local
governments — Altoona,~
Ankeny, Bondurant, Carl-
isle, Clive, Des Moines,
Indianola,
Johnston, Norwalk, Polk
City, Urbandale, Waukee,
West Des Moines, Wind-
sor Heights, and Polk
County — have committed
a portion of their hotel/
motel tax revenues to Bra-
vo Greater Des Moines,
which distributes the
funds through two annual
competitive granting cy-
cles. ‘
w The Iowa Architectural
Foundation isia‘ charitable
organization founded in
1989 to promote the
awareness and apprecia—
tion of architecture and
design. The nonprofit pur-
sues its mission through
youth and adult education
and outreach programs
and community design
charrettes. Visit www.
iowaarchfoundation.org
for more information.
Free Estimates.
