Articles from December 2021

The Dubuque Community School District has again been honored with the Best Communities for Music Education designation from The NAMM Foundation for its outstanding commitment to music education.

This is the fourth consecutive year the district has received the honor.

Now in its 22nd year, the Best Communities for Music Education designation is awarded to districts that demonstrate outstanding achievement in efforts to provide music access and education to all students.

To qualify for the Best Communities designation, the district answered detailed questions about funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time, facilities, support for the music program and community music-making programs. Responses were verified with school officials and reviewed by The Music Research Institute at the University of Kansas.

“The district has long recognized the value of music education in our schools, and music remains an integral part of our curricular and extracurricular offerings,” said Stan Rheingans, superintendent of schools. “Our district commitment is underscored by tremendous partnerships throughout our community that support our work to expose students to music education. This honor is truly a community honor.”

About The NAMM Foundation
The NAMM Foundation is a nonprofit supported in part by the National Association of Music Merchants and its approximately 10,400 members around the world. The foundation advances active participation in music making across the lifespan by supporting scientific research, philanthropic giving and public service programs.

The Dubuque Community School District is pleased to announce the appointment of Mark Fassbinder as the district’s next manager of buildings and grounds, pending approval by the Board of Education at its April 12 meeting. Fassbinder, who currently serves as an architect and project manager with IIW, P.C., will succeed Bill Burkhart, who will retire at the end of June.

Mark Fassbinder

As manager of buildings and grounds, Fassbinder will supervise all aspects of the district’s physical plant operations, including project management, staffing and budgeting. He will be a key leader in the short- and long-term planning, budgeting and execution of the maintenance, repairs, renovations and additions to district facilities, while also working with the district’s outside vendors and contractors.

“Mark brings an in-depth working knowledge of not only the district’s facilities, but also of the public improvement process and the operations of the buildings and grounds department,” said Chief Financial Officer Kevin Kelleher. “His experience as an architect and project manager, both on district projects and with a variety of other organizations, make him an ideal fit for this role.”

Fassbinder has been an architect and project manager with IIW since 2009. In this role, he coordinates design and construction project from planning to completion, working with both internal and external design team members, consultants and contractors. Prior to his work with IIW, Fassbinder served as an architectural intern and project manager with Durrant Group, and as an architectural draftsman with Shive Hattery.

Throughout his career, he has worked closely with a wide variety of district projects including work at 15 of the district’s 19 school buildings, as well as other non-school district facilities. He served as the project manager for the construction of Eleanor Roosevelt Middle School, for additions/renovations at Table Mound Elementary School, Kennedy Elementary School, and Irving Elementary School, and most recently at the Alta Vista Campus.

Fassbinder holds an associate of applied science degree in architectural technology from Kirkwood Community College and a bachelor of fine arts degree from the University of Northern Iowa. Professionally, he is a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB). He is a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Accredited Professional.

We are pleased to present the 2021 Dubuque-Area K-12 Virtual Art Exhibition, a way to highlight student work in a year that makes in unable to do so in person.

The exhibit features the ability to virtually walk through a curated gallery of work — and we hope you’ll enjoy immersing yourself in the exhibit as the vision of these talented student artists comes to life.

VIEW THE VIRTUAL EXHIBITION

HOSTED BY:

SPONSORED BY:

Greg Lehman

The Dubuque Community School District is pleased to announce the appointment of Greg Lehman as the next principal of Jefferson Middle School, pending approval by the Board of Education at its April meeting. An experienced educational administrator and assistant principal at Jefferson since 2006, Lehman will succeed Kelly Molony, who is retiring at the end of the school year.

As principal of Jefferson, Lehman will be responsible for the strategic and day-to-day operations of the school, which serves approximately 600 students and has over 100 professional and support staff.

“Greg has a proven track record of leadership at Jefferson Middle School, and he has strong, positive relationships across the Jefferson and greater Dubuque communities,” said Superintendent of Schools Stan Rheingans. “We are confident Greg is the right person to continue the positive work happening at Jefferson.”

Before becoming the Jefferson assistant principal in 2006, Lehman served an eighth-grade physical science teacher at the school since 2000. Prior to joining the Dubuque Community School District, he was a middle school life science, health and physical science teacher at River Ridge Middle School in Hanover, Ill.

Lehman holds a bachelor of arts degree in education from the University of Northern Iowa, as well as a master of arts in education degree (administration) from Clarke University. Professionally, he is a member of School Administrators of Iowa and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

The Dubuque Community School District will provide NO-COST meals for anyone 18 or under (no infant formula will be provided) from Monday, March 15, through Friday, March 19.

All Grab n’ Go meal bags will consist of a breakfast meal and lunch meal that meets USDA meal guidelines.

Students to Participate in the First Online Program and to Receive $10,000 Scholarship

Jillian Manternach

The United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) recently announced that Dubuque Senior High School senior Jillian Manternach was one of two Iowans selected to join Senator Charles Grassley and Senator Joni K. Ernst in representing Iowa during the 59th annual USSYP Washington Week from March 14-17, 2021. Alexander Drahos, a senior from Linn-Mar, was also selected to represent the state in the program.

Manternach and Drahos were selected from among the state’s top student leaders to be part of the 104 national student delegation, who will each also receive a $10,000 college scholarship for undergraduate study.

Due to the pandemic, the 2021 program will break ground as the first-ever fully virtual Washington Week, and is designed to be a highly interactive and exciting education and leadership forum for the nation’s most outstanding student leaders.

Manternach, a senior at Dubuque Senior High School, serves as the treasurer of the Student Body, president of the National Honor Society, secretary of Key Club, a delegate for Model UN and a representative to the Iowa Youth Congress. She plays varsity soccer for her school and volunteers extensively in her community and nationally through The Farmlink Project, a national initiative to fight food insecurity through repurposing surplus produce.

The USSYP was created by Senate Resolution 324 in 1962 and has been sponsored by the Senate and fully funded by The Hearst Foundations since inception. Originally proposed by Senators Kuchel, Mansfield, Dirksen and Humphrey, the Senate leadership of the day, the impetus for the program as stated in Senate testimony is “to increase young Americans’ understanding of the interrelationships of the three branches of government, learn the caliber and responsibilities of federally elected and appointed officials, and emphasize the vital importance of democratic decision making not only for America but for people around the world.”

Each year this extremely competitive merit-based program brings the most outstanding high school students – two from each state, the District of Columbia and the Department of Defense Education Activity – to Washington, D.C. for an intensive week-long study of the federal government and the people who lead it. However, this year, the program will be held online.

The overall mission of the program is to help instill within each class of USSYP student delegates more profound knowledge of the American political process and a lifelong commitment to public service. In addition to the program week, The Hearst Foundations provide each student with a $10,000 undergraduate college scholarship with encouragement to continue coursework in government, history and public affairs. All expenses for Washington Week are also provided by The Hearst Foundations; as stipulated in S.Res.324, no government funds are utilized.

Delegates and alternates are selected by the state departments of education nationwide and the District of Columbia and Department of Defense Education Activity, after nomination by teachers and principals. The chief state school officer for each jurisdiction confirms the final selection. This year’s Iowa delegates and alternates were designated by Mrs. Ann Lebo, Director of Education.

During the program week, the student delegates will attend online meetings and briefings with senators, the president, a justice of the Supreme Court, leaders of cabinet agencies and senior members of the national media, among others.

In addition to outstanding leadership abilities and a strong commitment to volunteer work, the student delegates rank academically in the top one percent of their states among high school juniors and seniors. Now more than 5,800 strong, alumni of the program continue to excel and develop impressive qualities that are often directed toward public service.

Among the many distinguished alumni are: Senator Susan Collins, the first alumnus to be elected U.S. senator; Secretary of Transportation and former Mayor of South Bend Indiana, Pete Buttigieg; former Senator Cory Gardner, the second alumnus to be elected U.S. senator and the first to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives; former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, the first alumnus to be elected governor; former Chief Judge Robert Henry, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit; former Ambassador to West Germany Richard Burt, former presidential advisors Thomas “Mack” McLarty and Karl Rove. Additional notables include former Lt. Governor of Idaho David Leroy, Provost of Wake Forest University Rogan Kersh, military officers, members of state legislatures, Foreign Service officers, top congressional staff, healthcare providers and other university educators.

Members of the U. S. Senate Youth Program 2021 annual Senate Advisory Committee are: Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Democratic Co-Chair; Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, Republican Co-Chair; Advisory Members: Senator Thomas R. Carper (D-DE); Senator Christopher S. Murphy (D-CT); Senator Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ); Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR); Senator Richard Burr (R-NC); Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND); Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and Senator Roger F. Wicker (R-MS). Each year, the Honorary Co-Chairs of the program are the vice president of the United States and the Senate majority and minority leaders.

For more information please visit the U.S. Senate Youth Program website.

One year into an energy conservation partnership with Cenergistic, a national sustainability company, the Dubuque Community School District has already saved $500,000 compared to expected energy costs over the same time.

School Board President Tami Ryan (far left) and Buildings and Grounds Manager Bill Burkhart (far right) receive an Environmental Excellence Certificate from Cenergistic. The certificate was presented by Cenergistic Client Manager Robert Herron (center right) and Energy Specialist Abigail Hammann (center left).

“Cenergistic has studied our electricity use and discovered ways to save our district significant money on our electricity costs, and they’ve been training our staff on the specifics of the plan to make those savings happen,” said Kevin Kelleher, the district’s chief financial officer. “Every dollar saved can be redirected to enhancing the educational experience for our students.”

To improve building operations and save costs, district personnel and the program’s energy specialist act as energy watchdogs, working in tandem to audit and optimize energy-using systems across the organization to achieve peak efficiency. The energy specialist tracks energy consumption at all campuses with state-of-the-art technology to identify waste and drive conservation.

In response to COVID-related shutdowns, the energy specialist gives special attention to improving air quality and supporting facilities teams to ensure students can return to healthier classrooms. Through thousands of facility audits, she provides a continuous presence throughout district schools, identifying hazards, optimizing equipment and helping implement CDC recommendations for continued operation.

“Our district does not have the in-house expertise to understand the billing process of our local utilities or the energy use of our district equipment and come up with significant energy savings,” said Kelleher. “This is where the staff of Cenergistic help the district understand that information in order to make better consumer decisions. Our district is pleased to have partnered with Cenergistic.”

The Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) will utilize HomeTown Ticketing as the exclusive ticket provider for postseason lead-up events and select state tournament events.

Therefore, tickets for postseason basketball games hosted by Senior and Hempstead WILL ONLY BE AVAILABLE through HomeTown Ticketing.

This includes the following games:

• Dubuque Senior Boys Basketball on Monday, February 22
• Hempstead Boys Basketball on Friday, February 26

Each school will provide a link to participants where family members can purchase a limited number of tickets for the game. Additionally, students will be provided with a separate link where they can purchase a ticket for the game.

Due to spectator limitations we anticipate that there will be NO general admission tickets available to the general public.

• If general admission tickets would become available, the district will put a HomeTown Ticketing link on the official district Facebook and Twitter pages on game day for individuals to purchase a ticket.

NOTE: The digital ticket purchased through HomeTown Ticketing is the only ticket that will be accepted for these contests.