The State Report Card for No Child Left Behind Iowa Department of Education, December 2006

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 requires each state to provide an annual report card to inform stakeholders and the public about the progress of students and schools on indicators of student achievement and other information that relates to student success. The State Report Card provides state level data to serve as a comparison for schools and districts as they consider and implement improvement efforts to increase the success for all Iowa students.

Perspetivas de Avaliação de Desempenho Docente: um Estudo com Professores em Cabo Verde

A avaliação de desempenho docente tem vindo a ser conceptualizada entre duas lógicas: a de controlo e a de desenvolvimento profissional, que originam, na sua implementação, diferentes modos de organização e avaliação do trabalho escolar e, consequentemente, de encarar a profissão docente. A investigação aborda as perspetivas de professores, de gestores e de diretores das escolas do Ensino Básico Integrado e do Ensino Secundário, para compreender se e em que medida o processo de avaliação do pessoal docente tem contribuído para melhorar a prestação pedagógica e o profissionalismo dos docentes em Cabo Verde. Foram definidos os seguintes objetivos: identificar as mudanças ocorridas nas práticas efetivas nas escolas a partir da lei nº 10/2000; analisar as relações estabelecidas entre a avaliação do pessoal docente e as suas práticas profissionais; verificar até que ponto avaliação docente contribui para melhoria do sistema de ensino. A investigação, de natureza qualitativa, utilizou o inquérito por entrevista semiestruturada como principal instrumento de recolha de dados. Os dados foram analisados com recurso à análise de conteúdo. Os inquiridos foram professores (8), diretores da Escola Secundária (2) e gestores do Ensino Básico Integrado (2), em exercício nas 4 escolas públicas de Santiago - Cabo Verde (2 na Praia, 1 em São Domingos e 1 no Tarrafal). Os resultados revelam que os professores entrevistados consideram que o modelo de avaliação existente contribuiria para a melhoria do desenvolvimento profissional, bem como para a progressão e distinção do mérito se fosse dado cumprimento à legislação. O incumprimento origina uma certa fuga dos professores mais novos para outros serviços, bem como uma desmotiva��ão significativa. Os fatores mais negativos da avaliação do desempenho docente prendem-se com o facto de os professores não concordarem com os avaliadores por não terem formação específica na área, bem como com o sistema de quotas para progressão e promoção na carreira. Para que a avaliação de desempenho docente seja um processo mais justo e com alguma equidade, os entrevistados consideram que devem ser criados conselhos científicos nas regiões e na administração central.

Safe Routes to School, June 7, 2006

Parental concerns about traffic and strangers have reduced children’s freedom to move about their neighborhoods on their own. Programs like the Walking School Bus — an adult-supervised walk to school — identify safe routes to school, and teach safe crossing practices and “street smart” skills. Appropriate infrastructure like sidewalks and bicycling paths is also important.

Iowa Law Enforcement Academy Annual Report, FY 2009

The Iowa Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) was created by an act of the Iowa legislature in 1967 with its purpose being to upgrade law enforcement to professional status. The specific goals were to maximize training opportunities for law enforcement officers, to coordinate training and to set standards for the law enforcement services. The Academy establishes minimum standards for Iowa law enforcement and grants officer certification. The Academy has the responsibility to de-certify or to suspend officer‟s certification when necessary.

Brief on Branstad-Reynolds administration Recommendations for World-Class School, January 6, 2012

In advance of the 2012 legislative session, I am pleased to provide for your review this legislative brief on Gov. Terry E. Branstad’s and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds’ education reform package. The purpose is to provide a broad overview of the components of the package, give some examples of where similar approaches are in place, and provide cost estimates. In collaboration with the Governor’s Office, the staff at the Iowa Department of Education and I have worked intensively to prepare a set of legislative proposals worthy of careful consideration. I believe this package puts us on the path to our unshakable vision of having one of the best school systems in the world. Iowa’s children deserve nothing less.

First in the Nation in Education : Final Report,1984.

This report is one step in an ongoing process of change and is a plea for commitment for high standards in education in Iowa. Contains the final reports of the six subcommittees as adopted by the Excellence in Education Task Force, and the five recommendations made by the Task Force.

Academic Court Schoolbased Lisison Statewide Date, 2006

Prepared by the Division of Criminal and Juvenile Justice Planning, Iowa Department of Human Rights

School Bus Safety Study: Kadyn’s Law, December 2012

In 2012, the Iowa legislature passed a bill for an act relating to school bus safety, including providing penalties for failure to obey school bus warning lamps and stop signal arms, providing for a school bus safety study and administrative remedies, and making an appropriation. The bill, referred to as Iowa Senate File (SF) 2218 or “Kadyn’s Law,” became effective March 16, 2012. A multiagency committee addressed three specific safety study elements of Kadyn’s Law as follows: * Use of cameras mounted on school buses to enhance the safety of children riding the buses and aid in enforcement of motor vehicle laws pertaining to stop-arm violations * Feasibility of requiring school children to be picked up and dropped off on the side of the road on which their home is located * Inclusion of school bus safety as a priority in driver training curriculum This report summarizes the findings for each of these topics.

Iowa School Emergency Procedure Flip Chart, 2012

Basis fill in the blank flip chart for schools to use when planning or implementing an emergency. Produced by the Iowa Department of Education.

Pieces of Iowa’s Past, March 27, 2013

Pieces of Iowa’s Past, published by the Iowa State Capitol Tour Guides weekly during the legislative session, features historical facts about Iowa, the Capitol, and the early workings of state government. All historical publications are reproduced here with the actual spelling, punctuation, and grammar retained. THIS WEEK: History of Iowa from the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century BACKGROUND: BENJAMIN F. GUE BENJAMIN F. GUE was born in Greene County, New York, on December 25, 1828. His education was acquired in the public schools, with two terms in academies of Canandaigua and West Bloomfield. He taught school in the winter of 1851 and early in March 1852, came to Iowa, and bought a claim on Rock Creek in Scott County. He was an abolitionist and took a deep interest in the antislavery movements of that period.

Iowa Board of Educational Examiners Licensure Handbook, January 15, 2013

Iowa Board of Educational Examiners Licensure Handbook

Parental monitoring: a way to decrease substance use among Swiss adolescents?

The objective of this research was to determine whether the level of parental monitoring is associated with substance use among adolescents in Switzerland, and to assess whether this effect remains when these adolescents have consuming peers. For this purpose, we used a nationally representative sample from the Swiss participation in the 2007 European School Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs survey, which included 7,611 adolescents in public schools (8th-10th grades). Four levels of parental control were created and four substances (tobacco, alcohol, cannabis, and ecstasy) were analyzed. All significant variables at the bivariate level were included in the multivariate analysis. Most adolescents had a high level of parental monitoring and that was associated with younger age, females, high socioeconomic status, intact family structure, and satisfactory relationships with mother, father, and peers. Overall, substance use decreased as parental monitoring increased and high parental monitoring decreased as having consuming peers increased. Results remained essentially the same when the variable "having consuming peers" was added to the analysis. Conclusion: parental monitoring is associated to positive effects on adolescent substance use with a reduction of consumption and a lower probability of having consuming peers, which seems to protect adolescents against potentially negative peer influence. Encouraging parents to monitor their adolescents' activities and friendships by establishing rules about what is allowed or not is a way to limit the negative influence of consuming peers on adolescent substance use.

Iowa School Safety Guide, April 6, 2012

This document was developed for the schools of Iowa to use as a template to enhance current school safety programs; the creation of this document was a partnered effort at the state level between the aforementioned agencies. The purpose of this document is to give school districts and individual schools a planning resource to use when creating their school safety plans. Ultimately, schools can decide how much of this document they would like to incorporate into their current plan. The original document was created by the Minnesota Department of Homeland Security, and its use was granted to Iowa Homeland Security in 2011. Iowa pulled together a panel of experts to make this document specific to Iowa’s schools, and laws. It’s important to note the partnership created by this document is intended to continue through information sharing in relation to critical assets, infrastructure protection, and school safety. Iowa Homeland Security is a representative in the Iowa Department of Public Safety, Division of Intelligence Fusion Center. This partnership allows for streamlined information sharing to the critical infrastructure owner/operators across the state. The current plan for information sharing is through the Iowa Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Threat information and Infrastructure Protection Program (TIIPP) to the Iowa Department of Education for processing and dissemination statewide. Depending on the type of information being released it could be specific to a school, district or the education sector statewide.