“We’re Moving Forward” in the Fall at River Valley Schools
by Donita Joens
Homecoming may be behind us already but the memories are still vivid in my mind. What a great week it was
filled with excitement, spirit, a feeling of togetherness, and moving forward towards a common goal. The week
was well-planned with events that took numerous hours organizing such as the king and queen coronation, dressup days, the all-school and community pep rallies, Friday’s parade, and the poster and float contests. Not only is
the big Friday night game a highlight of Homecoming but so are the volleyball matches. Losing a large number of
seniors from last year’s volleyball team has brought challenges and opportunities for the Wolverines. It has been a
building process but the players have shown great growth with each match they play. And, what an ending to the
week with a super victory from the football team Friday night with a sizzling performance from our dance team!
Our new St. Council supervisor, Ms. Kate Huffman, the St. Council, pep band, and cheerleaders are to be
commended on their super work they did this fall in making Homecoming 2012 fantastic.
Over the past few weeks I have been working on a new Department of Education document called the C-Plan. This
massive document is new to all Iowa schools this year and combines five documents from the past into one:
 Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (CSIP)
 Annual Progress Report (APR)
 Iowa Core Implementation Plan
 District Developed Service Delivery Plan (DDSDP)
 Schools in Need of Assistance/Districts in Need of Assistance (SINA/DINA) Plan
The C-Plan centers around school improvement and seven characteristics of improving schools throughout Iowa.
The areas of focus are:
 Vision, Mission, and Goals
 Leadership
 Collaborative Relationships
 Learning Environment
 Curriculum and Instruction
 Professional Development
 Monitoring and Accountability
After finishing the C-Plan and being new to the district, a number of areas of celebration became very evident as
did some areas we need to improve upon. Looking at the data during early-outs and other professional
development days will provide our teaching team time to develop an action plan to improve areas of needed
growth. In addition to in-service time, our school improvement committee (SIAC), the school board, the teacher
quality team (TQ), and administrative team will put their heads together to provide the best curriculum,
instruction, and assessments for today’s learners. Here are the goals for our district as developed by these groups:
District Student Learning Goals:
1. The student will demonstrate awareness and understanding in the use and functions of technology.
2. The student will demonstrate the ability to communicate.
3. The student will demonstrate an understanding of how the world’s diverse arts and cultures contribute to the
global nature of society.
4. The student will demonstrate the ability to find, evaluate, and use information to solve problems and to make
decisions.
5. The student will demonstrate skills necessary for mental and physical well-being, and social responsibility.
6. The student will demonstrate the skills necessary to be a life-long learner.
School Improvement Plan Goals:
Goal 1: All K-12 students will demonstrate proficiency in using technology.
Goal 2: All K-12 students will be provided with a safe environment that is inclusive, healthy, respectful,
disciplined, accessible, and supportive for maximum learning and personal development.
Goal 3: All K-12 students will continue to increase achievement in reading.
Goal 4: All K-12 students will continue to increase achievement in math.
Goal 5: All K-12 students will continue to increase achievement in science.
Board Long Range Goals 2009-2014:
1. Improve and enhance communication using technology.
2. Continue to explore and pursue sharing opportunities.
3. Continue to be fiscally responsible with the district’s funds.
4. Continue to pursue a path to a proficiency rate of 100% in reading, mathematics, and science.
5. Continue implementation of the Iowa Core Curriculum Plan.
Board Annual Goals for 2012-2013:
1. Increase technology integration into the classrooms to:
A. Improve student achievement by creating more engaging classrooms
B. Enhance communication
C. Improve employability skills
2. Improve district attendance for students and staff.
3. Continue to provide and improve upon support programs for students to:
A. Improve math scores
B. Raise student achievement through the before/after school programs
C. Increase student engagement
Elementary School Goals for 2012-2013:
Goal 1: Increase student achievement, specifically grades 3-6, through increased student engagement.
Goal 2: Improve math achievement scores, particularly for grades 3-6, on the Iowa Assessment.
Goal 3: Improve both student and staff attendance throughout the school year.
Secondary School Goals for 2012-2013:
Goal 1: Continue the before/after school study session where students can get help.
Goal 2: Improve both student and staff attendance throughout the school year.
Goal 3: To present to students the value of a college education in today’s world and to show them what the “real”
world has to offer them after they graduate.
Here are a few of the data points from the C-Plan. I will highlight grades 4, 8, and 11 since those are the grades
the State of Iowa focuses on to gain information about students in elementary, middle, and high schools. More
information about our district will be shared with you as it become available through out C-Plan.
Reading scores from River Valley as compared to the State and students from the Northwest AEA:
Math scores from River Valley as compared to the State and students from the Northwest AEA:
Science scores from River Valley as compared to the State and students from the Northwest AEA:
To help lead our district in school improvement, I, too, need professional development. This is provided to Iowa
superintendents in a variety of ways. I attend finance sessions through ISFLC (Iowa School Finance and Leadership
Consortium) and ISFIS (Iowa School Finance Information Services) and work with the business manager to gain a
better understanding of fiscal management. Financial professional development opportunities are generally held
in Des Moines but there are monthly webinars so we can stay in our district.
I attend monthly superintendent meetings at the Northwest AEA, mentoring meetings, webinars through the IASB
(Iowa School Board Association), and SAI (School Administrators of Iowa) workshops. Instructional Rounds is also
another committee I belong to through the NWAEA. This group is composed of areas superintendents who visit
classrooms, share “notes” on how to make improvements for greater student learning, and differentiate the
practices that engage, challenge, and result in student learning from those that are less effective. Instructional
Rounds comes from the practices that take place in the medical profession. This form of professional development
helps all classrooms become areas where high-quality instruction takes place daily for greater student
achievement. Visiting classrooms, discussing instructional topics with educators, listening to parents and students,
collaborating with district administrators and board members, working on plans and programs with colleagues,
gainig knowledge from AEA personnel, and creating a network with parents and the community round out my
professional development.
To prepare for River Valley’s site visit next year, I have volunteered to be a member of a site visit team for a
neighboring school district through the Department of Education. Even though I have been on three other DE
teams in year’s past, I always come away learning so much about curriculum, great teaching strategies, meaningful
assessments, technology tools, methods of making sure at-risk students are being served in the best way, and
leadership activities for our youth.
As you can see, learning never ends. Keep encouraging your child(ren) to do their best everyday. By working
together, we can make anything happen for the students of River Valley!
School Reach Communication Tool
We are going to be using School Reach to communicate important information about weather-related delays,
school closing, early-outs, post-poned events, etc. More information about this communication tool is available on
our website. Also, each student was given a copy about how to best use this tool. For the most part, voicemails
will be the preferred method of sharing information with students, staff, and parents. Stay tuned for another
“test” of School Reach before we actually have to use it. Hopefully the winter weather we had last year will
carryover to this year!