Articles by cyzem

The Dubuque Community School District is pleased to announce the appointment of Julia Jorgenson as the new principal of Hempstead High School, pending approval by the Board of Education at its March meeting.

Jorgenson, who currently serves as assistant principal/registrar at Hempstead will succeed Lee Kolker, who will retire at the conclusion of the school year. When she assumes the position on July 1, Jorgenson will be the first woman to serve in this role in the history of Hempstead High School.

Julia Jorgenson

As principal of Hempstead, Jorgenson will be responsible for the strategic and day-to-day operations of the school, which serves approximately 1,600 students and has 200 professional and support staff.

“Julia is a well-respected leader who has built a strong network of relationships with staff and students at Hempstead,” said Superintendent Amy Hawkins. “This, combined with her strong instructional, communication and collaboration skills, make her an ideal fit to lead Hempstead into the future.”

Jorgenson currently serves as assistant principal/registrar at Hempstead, overseeing delivery of the school’s academic programming in addition to a wide range of administrative responsibilities including staff evaluation.

Prior to being named assistant principal, Jorgenson served as a mathematics teacher at Dubuque Senior High School since 2007, where she also served in a leadership role as instructional coach since 2014. She was mathematics department chair at Dubuque Senior from 2009-2014 and a mathematics teacher at Central Alternative High School from 2002-2007.

Jorgenson holds a bachelor of science degree with education certification from the University of Iowa as well as a master of arts in educational administration from the University of Northern Iowa. She is a member of School Administrators of Iowa.

The Dubuque Community School District is pleased to announced that 12 district buildings have earned the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR® Certification. This recognition is presented to the most energy efficient buildings in the country.

Board President Kate Parks and Superintendent Amy Hawkins are presented with the district’s Energy Star recognition from Abbi Hammann and Jesse Coulter from Cenergistic.

“ENERGY STAR recognition underscores our district’s commitment to energy efficiency,” said Dubuque Community School District Superintendent Amy Hawkins. “Our energy conservation efforts are saving taxpayer dollars while also helping protect the local environment and maintaining healthy, comfortable learning spaces for students and staff.”

To earn ENERGY STAR Certification, buildings must rate in the top 25 percent nationwide for energy efficiency and meet ventilation standards. Dubuque Community Schools has the 4th most ENERGY STAR certified K12 buildings of any school district in Iowa.

Dubuque Community School District buildings earning ENERGY STAR Certification include:

• Audubon Elementary School
• Carver Elementary School
• Eisenhower Elementary School
• Hempstead High School
• Irving Elementary School
• Kennedy Elementary School
• Marshall Elementary School
• Prescott Elementary School
• Roosevelt Middle School
• Sageville Elementary School
• Senior High School
• Table Mound Elementary School.

The cost of utilities is one of the largest operations budget line-item for Dubuque Community School District, and the prices for electricity, natural gas, water, and sewage have been steadily increasing. To combat these rising energy and utility costs, Dubuque Community School District entered into a partnership with Cenergistic to implement a comprehensive organizational behavior-driven energy conservation program throughout all its buildings and campuses. Cenergistic’s Energy Specialist Abbi Hammann ensures the conservation program reduces energy consumption, helping the district save valuable resources that can be used elsewhere.

Since partnering in 2019 with Cenergistic on a comprehensive energy conservation program, the district has avoided utility costs of nearly $1.6 million. From an environmental standpoint, this impact is the equivalent of reducing CO2 by 3,761 metric tons or planting nearly 97,000 trees in our community.

We are pleased to present the Fall/Winter 2022-2023 K-12 Virtual Student Art Gallery, highlighting the amazing artwork of our students.

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 STUDENT ART EXHIBITION

The Iowa Legislature is again discussing proposed legislation that would create a school voucher program in Iowa, often being referred to as Education Savings Accounts.

Now is the time for action.

Iowa already has significant school choice in its public schools and the Dubuque Community School District opposes the creation or expansion of programs/plans that redirect or designate additional taxpayer funds for private school, homeschooling or other private services.

We hope you will consider advocating in opposition to school vouchers as well.

Investments in education savings accounts, voucher programs, school tuition organizations or homeschool:

• Remove resources from public schools,
• Lack accountability for expenditures, requirements to educate all children or provide special education services, and
• Are hidden from the public oversight that should come with tax dollars.

KEY TALKING POINTS

• Iowa already has a wide range of school choice options for parents and students, including: in district transfer, district-to-district public school open enrollment, charter schools, strong non-public schools, home school options, publicly funded School Tuition Organization tax credits.
• Parents should have the choice to enroll their child in a private or religious school, but not with public taxpayer funds.
• Use public dollars for public schools, period. The public’s investment should be used to support public community schools which are open to all students regardless of race, religion, gender, socio-economic status and disability. These same expectations do not exist for private educational institutions in our state.
• This bill creates incentives for outside entities and private organizations to establish a private school in our district, without consent of our locally elected School Board. Private schools are then given freedom from regulations that our school district must follow. Why not instead give our public schools flexibility and funding to be innovative?
• Public funds require public accountability and transparency. Public schools are overseen by a publicly elected citizen governing board, are required to report academic results to the general public, have an annual public financial audit, and are transparent with all expenditures and decision-making. Private and religious schools are not held to that same public standard. Taxpayers have a right to know how their funds are being used, but are left in the dark about the use and impact of voucher funds.
• A slippery slope toward a costly and expansive voucher program: This voucher program may start small, but as we’ve seen in other states, once a program is established, it is easy to expand. This will pull more resources away from public schools.

CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATOR

The following legislators represent areas served by the Dubuque Community School District. For a complete directory of legislators, view the FIND YOUR LEGISLATOR tool on the Iowa Legislature website.

• Sen. Carrie Koelker, Iowa Senate District 33
• Sen. Pam Jochum, Iowa Senate District 36
• Rep. Lindsay James, Iowa House District 71
• Rep. Steven Bradley, Iowa House District 66
• Rep. Chuck Isenhart, Iowa House District 72
• Rep. Shannon Lundgren, Iowa House District 65

You can also register your opposition with Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds.

Registration for free four-year-old preschool in the Dubuque Community School District will begin on Monday, Jan. 9. This includes all 12 Dubuque public elementary schools offering preschool through the Statewide Voluntary Free Preschool Program.

Parents and guardians may register students in person at the selected site, beginning at 7 a.m. on Monday, January 9.

Proof-of-age, preferably a birth certificate, is required to register a student. Other accepted proof-of-age documents include a passport or signed immunization record.

Preschool registration paperwork is available to complete in advance beginning on the district’s preschool webpage or in-person at all elementary schools. You can also find registration details and forms, as well as additional preschool information, online at www.dbqschools.org/preschool.

Free four-year-old preschool is open to students who are four by September 15. For additional registration questions, individuals should contact the school they are interested in registering at.

Space may be limited in some facilities and registrations are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Enrollment for preschool is not based on geography and all sites are open to residents within the Dubuque Community School District.

In addition to spots in Dubuque’s public schools, a variety of community preschool partners also offer free four-year-old preschool.

The Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program for Four-Year-Old Children is funded by the State of Iowa and facilitated locally by the Dubuque Community School District.

Dubuque Senior High School returned from the 2022 Iowa Thespian Festival with a number of student award and the induction of a staff member into the Iowa Thespian Hall of Fame.

Aaron Dean, an English teacher and theatre director at Dubuque Senior High School, was inducted to the Iowa Thespian Hall of Fame as recognition for demonstrated dedication to the Thespians of Iowa, promotion of theatre arts and arts education, and years of service to students at their respective schools.

Dubuque Senior graduate Brady Booth spoke of the induction ceremony of Dean’s dedication to students and the state organization. Dean joins two former Dubuque Senior Hall of Fame members, Sybil Lamb (inducted in 1996) and Fran Hedeman (inducted in 1997).

For students, the International Thespian Excellence Awards (or Thespys® for short) recognize the highest level of achievement in school theatre performance, technical theatre, writing, and filmmaking.

This educational program celebrates the work of theatre students, giving them the opportunity to receive constructive feedback on prepared theatrical material, technical design, plays, and short films, and recognizing their achievements on local, regional, and international stages.

The following Dubuque Senior students earned honors at the 2022 Iowa Thespian Festival, based on adjudication from theatre professionals from around the country. They also qualified to move on to the national competition.

First Place in Duet Acting
Scout Kuehn and Lucia Kuehn
“Miss Kentucky”

First Place in Group Acting
Lucia Kuehn, Scout Kuehn, Soren Obermueller, Aidan Seville, and Emma Ward
“Over the River and Through the Woods”

First Place in Musical Theatre Dance (Solo)
Alex Dixon
“Run and Tell That”

First Place in Group Musical Theatre
Conner Frederick, Evelyn Maddux, and Anna O’Connor
“The I Love You Song”

Second Place in Monologues
Evelyn Maddux
“I Used to Write on Walls / Rabbit Hole”

Second Place in Group Musical Theatre
Riley Beck, Ami Bellings, and Soren Obermueller
“Louder Than Words”

Second Place in Group Acting
Natalee Killian, Ella Meyer, Paige Putnam, Madeline Rupp, and Bella Vanden Berge
“Five Women Wearing the Same Dress”

Middle and high school students across the Dubuque Community School District were recently selected to perform in prestigious music festivals across the state.

Congratulations to the following students on these honors:

2022 All-State Music Festival

Saturday, November 19, in Ames, Iowa

Dubuque Senior High School
Jace Holz, orchestra (cello)
Gabrielle Norman, band (contra-alto clarinet)
Henry Raber, band (French horn)
Drew Weidemann, orchestra (bass)
Hao Xu, orchestra (violin)

Hempstead High School
Megan Bolduc, orchestra (clarinet)
Ella Stahl, band (clarinet)
Brett Tomkins, band (tuba)
Payton Reid, chorus (tenor)
Noah Blair, band (string bass)
Alec Bowman, orchestra (violin)
Cora Harvey, orchestra (violin)
Hailie Lukasik, orchestra (violin)
Gavin Weinbender, orchestra (violin)

Alternates:
Emily Davisdon, band (alto saxophone)
Gwen Deutsch, band (oboe)

2022 University of Northern Iowa Clarinet Festival

Sunday, November 6, in Cedar Falls, Iowa

Roosevelt Middle School
Josie Kilgore
Aaron Blanchard
Isla Steckel
Carson Ambrosy
Kinnick Burkart
Emerson Rowley
Hadley Peat
Adelyn Mottet
Morgan Waddington

Dubuque Senior High School
Elise Norman
Gabrielle Norman

Hempstead High School
Savannah Bailey
Lauren Schmitz

2022 Iowa Opus Honor Choir

Thursday, November 17, in Ames, Iowa

Roosevelt Middle School
Samuel Haug

Washington Middle School
Leeland Wilson
Reid Postma
Liam Dostal (also a solo finalist singing tenor 1 part)
Julie Derks

2022 Iowa Junior Honor Orchestra

Friday, November 18, in Ames, Iowa

Hempstead High School
On violin: Maria Hart, Jeannie Jasper, Alexis Luetzelschwab, Abd Ul-Haq, Gavin Weinbender
On viola: Stacy Montelius
On cello: Bella Hruska, Aadi Patel (alternate)
On bass: Hannah Wrobleski

Dubuque Senior High School
On violin: Iris Lammer-Heindel

2022 Northeast Iowa Bandmasters Association Honor Band

Saturday, December 3, in Oelwein, Iowa

Roosevelt Middle School
Aaron Blanchard, clarinet
Addison Hingtgen, bassoon
Matthew Haug, trumpet
Nolan Page, trumpet
Diem Treanor, French horn
Jordan Davisdon, French horn
Addilyn Dolan, clarinet

Dubuque Senior High School
Madison Fast, oboe
Lance Hasselblad, bassoon
Audrey Kilgore, French horn
Calvin Lueken, trombone

Hempstead High School
Savannah Bailey, clarinet
Jacob Blanchard, trumpet
Emily Davisdon, alto saxophone
Hannah Davisdon, flute
Gwen Deutsch, oboe
Hanna Dolan, flute
Emmelia Pitt, tenor saxophone
Lauren Schmitt, bass clarinet

The Dubuque Community School District has released draft calendars for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years.

View the DRAFT 2023-2024 School Calendar

View the DRAFT 2024-2025 School Calendar

Feedback on the draft calendars is being accepted through Wednesday, Nov. 30.

COMPLETE THE DRAFT CALENDAR FEEDBACK FORM

The Dubuque Community School District will host a second informational meeting on the district’s middle school consolidation study on Tuesday, November 1, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. at the Forum, 2300 Chaney Road.

At the meeting, the team from INVISION Architecture leading the study will provide an update on the process, share potential consolidation site locations, discuss considerations for each option, and allow those in attendance to provide feedback.

The INVISION team plans to complete its research gathering, analysis and community feedback in time to provide a recommendation by the end of the calendar year.

In April, the School Board voted to approve a goal of moving to a two middle school model by fall 2026, with a focus on creating feeder schools to the district’s two high schools. The study includes baseline data collection and analysis of the district’s current middle schools, benchmarking against best practices, and analysis of potential consolidation locations.

VIEW PRESENTATION MATERIALS FROM THE FIRST COMMUNITY MEETING

For those unable to attend, the presentation content will be shared on the district website at www.dbqschools.org following the meeting.

In April, the School Board voted to approve a goal of moving to a two middle school model by fall 2026, with a focus on creating feeder schools to the district’s two high schools.

The study, led by Iowa-based INVISION Architecture, includes baseline data collection and analysis of the district’s current middle schools, benchmarking against best practices, and analysis of potential consolidation locations.

PRESENATION FROM THE NOVEMBER 1, 2022 COMMUNITY INFORMATIONAL MEETING

View the latest presentation below, which includes information about potential site locations.

After watching the video of the November 1 meeting below, GIVE YOUR FEEDBACK ON A SHORT SURVEY.

PRESENATION FROM THE SEPTMEBER 22, 2022 COMMUNITY INFORMATIONAL MEETING