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Recent news and announcements from A-H-S-T Superintendent Mark Hopkins will be posted here.
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Allowable Growth

posted Feb 25, 2013, 9:35 AM by Ryan Smith


Prepare for Winter Weather Delays, Dismissals, or Cancellations

posted Nov 6, 2012, 6:02 AM by Ryan Smith

By:  Mark Hopkins, A-H-S-T School Superintendent


 

What beautiful fall weather we have had this year!  However, all of us know that winter weather will be coming soon.  Now is a good time to plan for weather-related late starts, early dismissals, or school cancellations.  Please make arrangements in advance so your child/children will know what to do if inclement weather causes a change in the regular school schedule.  Reminder:  Breakfast will not be served on late start days. 

 

As usual, you can tune into the following radio or television stations for weather-related announcements:  KMA (960 AM), KSOM (96.5 FM), KJAN (1220 AM), KNOD (105.3 FM), KMTV (Channel 3), WOWT (Channel 6), or KETV (Channel 7).   We will also be using SchoolReach, our parent notification system, to announce weather-related announcements.  Note:  Parents will automatically receive phone notifications based on information submitted to the school during registration.  If you need to update phone numbers, please notify the appropriate office, or update your information by clicking on the SchoolReach link located on the A-H-S-T website.  The link is located in the upper left-hand corner.

 

Here are some tips to ensure you receive the message:

 

1.)  The caller ID will be 712-343-6364.  There is a short pause at the beginning of the message, usually a few seconds.  Answer your phone as you normally would; “hello” and hold for the message to begin.  Multiple “hellos” will delay the message.  Inform all family members who may answer your phone of this process.

2.)  If you do not answer, the system will detect that your machine has answered and will play the recording to your machine.  The phone will ring for up to 40 seconds.  Make sure that your machine answers after four rings or you may miss the message.

3.)  At the end of the message you will be prompted to ‘press any key’ to hear the message again.  This is very helpful when a child answers the phone and hands it to a parent, who can then ‘repeat’ the message in its entirety.

4.)  The following are things that interfere with proper delivery of messages:  loud background noise, not saying hello or repeatedly saying hello, cell phones that have ringback/music options, or answering machine/voice mail greetings that are too long or have long pauses.

 

As we continue to use SchoolReach, please keep us notified of any “glitches” in the system.  We want this to be an effective communication tool, so your input is important.  Hopefully we will not have to use the system many times for inclement weather.  All of us would appreciate a mild winter!

A-H-S-T School Board Sets 2013 Legislative Priorities

posted Jul 23, 2012, 10:39 AM by Ryan Smith   [ updated Jul 23, 2012, 10:39 AM ]

The A-H-S-T Board of Education set its legislative priorities for the 2013 session of the Iowa Legislature at the July 18, 2012 school board meeting.  A-H-S-T Board members participated this year in the Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) legislative policy process by talking about the impact of state policy on the district and voting on legislative resolutions for the next legislative session.

 

The school board determined that the following priorities for 2013 are critical to students and taxpayers of the A-H-S-T School District:

  • Priority #1:  Supports funding to ensure all 4 year olds have access to a high quality public school preschool program, and allow them to be included in the enrollment count if those programs can demonstrate meeting the collaboration and quality standards requirements of the statewide voluntary preschool program.
  • Priority #2:  Supports setting allowable growth at a rate that encourages continuous school improvement and reflects actual cost increases experienced by school districts.
  • Priority #3:  Opposes unfunded mandates. These mandates increase requirements for local school districts, but no funding is available to support the mandates.
  • Priority #4:  Supports flexibility in the use of modified allowable growth for dropout prevention including the funding of administrative costs and employee costs for those who have the responsibility for serving at-risk students.
  • Priority #5:  Supports continued progress in the development of rigorous content standards and benchmarks, consistent with the Iowa Core focused on improving student achievement.

 

The grassroots IASB legislative process involves school board members in Iowa. Together, school leaders make a difference.  Resolutions submitted by school districts will be reviewed by the IASB Board of Directors before being debated and adopted by the IASB Delegate Assembly at its annual fall meeting in Des Moines.

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