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SECTION K. EDUCATION SYSTEM
INTRODUCTION
Education is one of the most important
aspects of a community; it provides the means for a skilled workforce and
prepares the younger generations to develop the skills necessary to succeed
in the future. Without the proper and
up-to-date educational system the entire county will suffer. This section looks into the existing
school districts in Lee County, as well as, the higher education facilities
offered to residents of Lee County.
SCHOOL
DISTRICTS
Keokuk
Community School District
Keokuk Community School District
(KCSD) is composed of five elementary schools, one middle school and one high
School. The central office is located
at 727 Washington Street. The high
school, built in 1954, has grades 9-12 and is located at 2285 Middle
Road. Built in 1924 and updated in
1957, the middle school houses grades 6-8 and is located at 20 North 14th
Street. All the elementary schools in
the district have grades 1-5 and kindergarten is located at Hawthorne
Elementary.
The 2001-2002 school year is
the first year the district has decided to centralize the kindergarten
classes to one building. Hawthorne
Elementary (built in 1957), which is located at 2940 Decatur Street. Built in 1980, the George Washington
Elementary is located at 116 North 8th Street. Lincoln Elementary is located at 1402
South 7th Street and was built in 1934. Torrance Elementary was built in 1924, and is located at 1721
Fulton Street. Also built in 1924,
Well-Carey Elementary is located at 918 Time Street.
The district employs 283 persons, 175 of
which have some form of college degree in education or administration. Approximately 57 percent of the
professionally certified personnel have more than 10 years experience at KCSD
and 45 percent have a Master’s Degree or higher.
Figure 12 illustrates the districts
enrollment figures for the past five years.
As the graphs reveals, the district has seen a decline in students
since 1997.
Source: Certified Enrollment
For Iowa School Districts
The district has seen a dramatic growth in technology over the past
five years. Since 1996, all the
classrooms in the district are connected to the Internet, all classrooms have
one or more computers, about 54 percent of classrooms have 2 or more computers,
each building has a computer lab, all employees have an E-mail address and
voice mail, 98 percent of classrooms and offices have telephones, and each
building has their own media center and ICN classroom.
The district offers students with disabilities or difficulty in
learning special services to help students succeed, such specialized programs
include:
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Learning Disabilities
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Behavior Disabilities
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Mental Disabilities
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At Risk Summer School
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Work Start
(Junior/Seniors)
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Talented and Gifted
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Title 1 Reading (K-3)
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Post-Secondary Options
Act in conjunction with SCC
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K-12 Home School
Liaisons
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6-12 Alternative School
Program
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Family Resource Center
at Lincoln Elementary
Fort
Madison Community School District
Fort Madison Community School
District (FMCSD) main office is located at 1930 Avenue M. The school district is composed of four
elementary schools (preK-6), a middle school (7-8), a high school (9-12), and
an alternative school (10-12). The
high school is located at Avenue B and 20th street; it was
original built in 1959 and is 133,565 square feet, which covers 36
acres. The middle school is located
at 1800 Avenue G; it was built in 1923 and has 62,983 Square feet and has
2.57 acres. The enrollment figures
for the past two school years are shown in Figure 13.
Source: FMCSD
Jefferson Elementary is located
at 2301 Avenue G and has Special Ed, and 4th through 6th
graders. The building is the oldest,
being built in 1914 with only 11,708 square feet; it has now 28,984 square
feet or 3.76 acres. Lincoln Elementary
handles Special Ed, and K-6th, and is located at 1326 Avenue
E. The facility was built in 1936
with only 16,488 square feet and has grown to 37,095 square feet (1.76 acres)
after two additions were done in 1954 and 1988. Denmark Elementary was originally built in 1926 with 20,904
square feet, after two additions in 1954 and 1988 it has grown to 21,269
square feet or 3.47 acres. The school
provides Special Ed and grades K-6th. Richardson Elementary was built in 1918 (16,745 square feet)
and has had three additions (1946, 1970, and 1988) over the years and now has
46,184 square feet (4.02); which makes it the largest elementary school in
the district. The following chart
displays the past two school years enrollment figures for the elementary
schools in the district.
Source:
FMCSD
The school district offers the
following technology:
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Computers in every room,
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Computer labs in every building,
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Internet access in every building,
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E-mail and voice mail for every employee, and
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Automated media centers.
The district also offers the
following programs:
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School/Business partnerships with each
building,
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Family Resource Centers,
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Reading Recovery,
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Alternative Kindergarten,
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Elementary mentoring,
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Conflict manager and peer mediation programs, and
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High School Renaissance program.
In the fall of 1997 a bond
issue was passed to replace roofs, electrical systems, and install safety
upgrades. Also the countywide 1-cent
sales tax in 1999 went to make school infrastructure improvements. The district is now equipped with a new
all-weather track and tennis facility, new lighting for the baseball and
softball fields, renovated football stadium, and expanded playgrounds and
added parking.
Central
Lee Community School District
Central Lee Community School
District is located on Highway 218, between Charleston and New Boston. Central Lee covers 180 square miles. The High School was built in 1959 and the
K-8 building was completed in 1987.
There are 93 teachers and 1,117 students in the district.
Technology has been gradually
woven into every curricular area.
Each classroom has a computer that is connected to the Internet and
every teacher has e-mail. There are
four computer labs at Central Lee, one lab in each building and also in the media
center in the high school. There are
19 athletic programs at Central Lee, and 14 activities that include band,
vocal, show choir, speech, school play, and student yearbook.
The high school offers 78 courses in
language arts, home economics, agricultural education, health education,
business education and drivers’ education.
Eligible students may choose from distance learning courses for high
school or college credit and post secondary enrollment options for
credit. The elementary and middle
school curriculum is designed around proven practice in education to provide
students with a foundation in the basic skills, problems solving, teamwork,
citizenship and behavior.
Central Lee has a high
attendance rate, high parent/teacher conference attendance and parental
involvement as well as strong community support with the booster clubs
donating more than $50,000 to support the activities programs in the
district.
In Figure 15, the district’s
enrollment numbers are displayed for the past five years. As the graph reveals, there was a slight
decline in students during the 1998-1999 school year, but it increased again
during the 1999-2000 school year.
Source: Certified Enrollment
For Iowa School Districts
Keokuk Christian Academy
The Keokuk Christian Academy is
located at 1578 Hilton Road in Keokuk.
The school was opened in the 1982 and offers classes from preschool to
8th grade. The school has
eight teachers and approximately 100 students. The school has a computer lab; computers in the classrooms; a
library; and students participate in field trips and have excellent Iowa
Tests of Basic Skills results. The
schools enrollment figures for the past five school years are displayed in
Figure 16.
Source: Keokuk Christian
Academy, 2001
Cardinal Stritch Schools
The Cardinal Stritch Schools
are located at 2981 Plank Road in Keokuk.
The school consists of two buildings, one built in 1956 and the other
in 1965. The school is equipped with the
Internet, and science lab, art room and a library. The students of the school participate in various community
services. There is a full-time staff
of 20, a part-time staff of 5, and 4 full-time Aides.
The schools enrollment has
ranged from 235 to 220; the following chart illustrates in detail the
enrollment figures for the past six years.
The enrollment has increased slightly since they offered preschool in
2000.
Source: Cardinal Stritch
Schools
Marquette Catholic School System
The Marquette Catholic School
System was organized by the three parishes which it services: St. John’s of
Houghton, St. James of St. Paul, and St. Mary’s of West Point. Formerly, each one of these parishes
operated its own school system, giving Marquette a history that dates back
nearly 150 years. In the late 1960s,
these separate systems joined in an effort to create one larger stronger
Catholic institution. This merger
resulted in the Marquette Catholic School System that exists today.
Marquette is a total PK-12
school system, fully accredited by the Iowa Department of Education, the
Diocese of Davenport, and the National Catholic Education Association. Students enrolled in Marquette Catholic
School attend classes in one of three centers. Students in grades K-3 are located in Houghton, grades 4-6 at
St. Paul, and grades 7-12 at West Point.
Marquette also offers a preschool program for 4 and 5 year olds at
their St. Paul Center. These students
are not included in the enrollment figures.
The anticipated preschool enrollment for 2001-2002 is 21 students.
The school system had 32
teachers during the 2000-2001 school year, for a teacher/student ratio of
1:10. Figure 18 illustrates the
change in enrollment over the past six years.
Source: Marquette Catholic
School System
Marquette serves the
surrounding area in many ways. A
special feature is the ICN room in the high school where it is available for
school and community use. And at each
center, an up-to-date computer lab is available for student and faculty
use.
The educational program of the
Marquette Catholic School System is built around basic academic
subjects. These subjects are
introduced at the Primary level, and continued throughout the student’s entire
learning experience.
There are more than 50 courses
offered in 11 instructional areas at the senior high school, plus a strong
religious education program, competitive athletics, and numerous clubs and
social events in which students may participate. Students at Marquette high school complete 45 credits, satisfy
the admission requirements of Iowa’s state universities and private colleges
and universities.
The Marquette Catholic School
System also provides the following special programs and features:
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Activities Calendar
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Adult Education
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Artists in the Schools
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Baccalaureate Exercises
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Discipline Policy
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Dress Code
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Health Screening and Services
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Hot Lunch Program
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Individualized Instruction
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Marquette Organized Boosters
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Parental Assistance Program
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Parent-Teacher Conferences
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Peer Helper Program
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School News
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Spiritual Guidance
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Summer School Education
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Tuition Assistance and Scholarships
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Volunteer Support
CONTINUED
EDUCATION
Southeastern Community College
Southeastern Community College
(SCC) recently opened its newly remodeled Fort Madison Center in September
2000. This handicap accessible
building, located at 4703 Avenue D, is approximately 4,030 square feet. The center has a full time staff of three
and the part time staff ranges from two to twelve.
The Center has four fully
equipped classrooms including an 18 PC Internet networked computer lab. The Center offers a full range of
audio/visual equipment available to everyone using the facility. Although this “branch” of the college is
quite new, the facility has been able to offer a wide array of programs and
services over the past nine months including:
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Day and Night Credit and Non Credit Classes
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GED Instructional Classes and On-Site Testing
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English as a Second Language Programs
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Computer Classes
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Computer Classes Specifically Designed for
Seniors
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Internet Classes
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Continuing Education Classes
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Upward Bound Programs
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Vocational Training
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Certification Classes
The SCC Fort Madison Center was
designed with the community in mind.
They encourage local organizations to use the facility for meetings
and training. The Center and its
staff are here to help improve the lives of the people in this area by
offering opportunities and facilities for growth. Their goals for the next year are to continue to assess the
wants and needs of the people of southeast Iowa and help them help themselves
through the available programs and services.
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