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Important Mental Health and Wellness Reminders
We want to provide a reminder that your mental health matters. While there is much to celebrate within our school district family, we also recognize the challenges that many face throughout the year.
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Carmen Gwenigale, Inspiring Global Citizenship in Iowa
Growing up, Carmen did not see herself as a teacher, but those who knew her definitely saw it coming. She had such a passion for school and reading that when school was out during the summer, she would gather the neighborhood kids together and pretend to be a teacher.
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Troy Peters, The Mind Meddler
We know Troy Peters has been teaching English and Language Arts as well as directing plays and musicals at City High for the past 15 years, but what you don't know about Troy may surprise you.
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Van Allen’s Karen Smith Treks Across the State, Bringing Awareness to Mental Health
This June, Karen Smith walked 312 miles across the state of Iowa over the course of three weeks. She embarked on this journey, motivated to raise awareness for mental health and inspired by her own personal connections.
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Strengthening Community Through Restorative Justice
Restorative justice focuses on building community, righting a wrong committed, and repairing harm done. Learn more about our District's Restorative Justice Program, and the impact of building community with circles.
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Meet Our New Administrators!
Meet our new administrators for the 2022-2023 school year, and learn more about their goals for their new role and some fun facts about them!
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Welcome to James Van Allen Elementary of the Iowa City Community School District, home of the Rockets!
In order to achieve our goals of excellence and equity for all students, we have adopted a new school improvement model called High Reliability Schools. High Reliability Schools is a framework that supports fulfilling our vision of equitable outcomes for all students. It gives us a common language to name what we’re doing, assess our current reality, align our initiatives, and determine where to go next. It is a vehicle that allows us to balance shared responsibility and autonomy to make decisions that best meet the needs of all our students.
We are excited to get this work started and we are excited to partner in this process with all of you! We value the voice of our school community and we want to make sure that your experiences are reflected in our High Reliability Schools implementation. Throughout the year, there will be multiple opportunities for our students, families, and staff to provide feedback that will inform the work that we do. Please stay tuned for information on these opportunities. We look forward to partnering with you on this exciting new adventure!
Eric Ewald, Principal
(319) 688-1185
ewald.eric@iowacityschools.orgInspire Learning. Act with Empathy. #VanAllenPride
