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

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.

“Music education has long been valued in the Dubuque Community School District and we are pleased to be honored with the designation,” said Superintendent of Schools Stan Rheingans. “We continue to place emphasis on the important role music and other extracurricular activities play in student success and the development of important real-world skills.”

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE AWARD

Congratulations to Michael Gilbertson, a 2006 Hempstead High School graduate, on being a finalist for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize in Music. Gilbertson’s composition “Quartet” was honored in the competition.

LEARN MORE ABOUT MICHAEL’S HONORED COMPOSITION

READ THE TELEGRAPH HERALD STORY ABOUT MICHAEL

Mark Burns

Mark Burns, principal of Washington Middle School, has been named the district’s next director of secondary education, pending approval of Board of Education at its May meeting. Burns, who will assume the position on July 1, will succeed David Olson, who is retiring at the end of June.

As director of secondary education, Burns will be a member of the district’s senior leadership team and will provide administrative oversight of 6-12 programming in the district’s 5 middle and high schools, as well as the Alta Visa Campus. This work will include oversight of the district’s secondary curriculum and assessment efforts, as well as planning, coordination and supervision of a comprehensive professional learning program for staff.

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The Foundation for Dubuque Public Schools recently held its annual Enhancing Excellence Luncheon celebrating the foundation’s work and honoring Jeff Mozena, a 1972 Hempstead High School graduate, with the 2018 Distinguished Hometown Alumni Award.

The Dubuque Community School District is thankful for the ongoing support of the foundation. Watch the video below, which was shown at the luncheon and highlights the impact of the foundation.

The Iowa Department of Education released statewide graduation rates for the Class of 2017 – showing that the Dubuque Community School District again had strong results, with the district’s four-year graduation rate at 89.68 percent, just below the state average of 91 percent and essentially stable from last year’s 89.76.

“To put this rate into perspective, it is important to look at Dubuque’s performance compared to large district’s in the state that are similar to us,” said Superintendent Stan Rheingans. “When you look at Dubuque in this peer group, we have the second highest graduation rate – something we are very proud of for a complex district like ours.”

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The Dubuque Community School District has named new principals at Bryant Elementary School and Kennedy Elementary School for the 2018-2019 school year, pending School Board approval at its April 9 meeting.

Megan Richardson, currently an instructional coach at Irving Elementary School, will assume the principal role at Bryant Elementary School. Brenda Duvel, currently an assistant principal at Roosevelt Middle School, will assume the principal role at Kennedy Elementary School.

“Megan and Brenda have both exhibited outstanding leadership in our district and they possess the skills and enthusiasm we look for in members of our leadership team,” said Superintendent of Schools Stan Rheingans. “They stood out among a pool of extremely strong candidates and we are excited to have them moving into these new roles.”

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The Dubuque Community School District was recently awarded a Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Association of School Business Officials International (ASBO) for having met or exceeded the program’s high standards for financial reporting and accountability. The award is for the district’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for the fiscal year ending in 2017. This is the ninth consecutive year the district has received this honor.
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