Every school in the immediate area will be starting next week, on Thursday, Aug. 23, and Superintendent of Ar-We-Va Community School District, Jeff Kruse, says that this really is no coincidence. This is the first start date allowed by the new Iowa law, however, that change has not really affected the district as they have always liked to start right around this same timeframe and mid-week. Preparations for this day did not just start in the last couple of weeks, they actually began earlier this year with a major facility improvement.
They are now in their third year of partial-day sharing with Carroll at the high school level. Freshman and sophomores travel to Carroll for the first three periods of the day and the junior and senior students for five periods. They then return to Westside for activities. Kruse says he believes the students are getting the best of both worlds.
He says this partnership has been a great one that gets better each and every year. The district will be able to offer some new exploratory and consumer science classes at the Ar-We-Va site with the addition of a new guidance counselor and instructor. Kruse says that they have also seen a changeover at the middle and high school with the retirement of Principal, Rich Stoffers, who recorded nearly 40 years in education.
Kruse splits his time as superintendent between two districts, Ar-We-Va and South Central Calhoun. He does this on an 80/20 basis, spending one day a week in Ar-We-Va and the rest in South Central buildings. He says he relies heavily on the administration and staff to make this situation work out well for everyone.
And as the students, staff, faculty and administration gear up for the new year, one of the dates that Kruse says is a highlight comes early on, the annual Scholarship Committee chicken dinner at the Westside Community building on Wednesday, Sept. 12. Kruse says in the past two years, they have served over 500 people each year, with the only qualifying requirement for earning scholarship dollars being that the Ar-We-Va student lends a hand in working at the dinner. For more details on the Ar-We-Va Community School District, follow the link included below.
__________________________________________________
https://www.ar-we-va.k12.ia.us/
