Issues

Increase Accessibility for 4 Year Old Preschool

Research demonstrates that students who have access to preschool are more likely to succeed in school and later in life.  All students in the ICCSD should have access to high quality affordable preschool, which is why Lisa has been working to expand the district's preschool program.  Now in it's second year, ICCSD's pilot preschool program offers a full day of care, including a half day of preschool, at four elementary schools with the goal of expanding to all 21 elementary buildings.

Ensure that schools provide sufficient mental health supports for students and staff

The well-being and mental health of our students and staff is paramount.  Students struggling with mental health concerns have a harder time concentrating in class and completing work.  Likewise, staff who experience mental health concerns can be less effective in the classroom.  ICCSD's multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) includes district-wide systems, building level school staff and specific services provided to students, their families, and staff through community partnerships to address the mental health needs of all of our students and staff.  

Lisa is proud to have advocated for and supported initiatives like expanding the NESTT (Navigating Emotions and Stress Through Training) program at all of our secondary schools.  Lisa supported expanding our community partnerships that provided targeted support to students staff.  These include partnerships with CommUnity Mobile Crisis Outreach Program, United Action for Youth, Four Oaks, Prelude Behavioral Services and Big Brothers Big Sisters.  Lisa also supports the important partnerships with Four Oaks, ChildServe, and NAMI to provide on-site mental health counseling for select students. These agencies provide limited and planful school-based therapy for individual students.

Enact policies that keep our schools safe and secure

Safe schools promote the protection of all students from violence, exposure to weapons and threats, theft, bullying and harassment, and other emergencies.  School safety is linked to improved student and school outcomes. In particular, emotional and physical safety in school are related to academic performance. 

Lisa has advocated and supported several polices and changes that have made our schools more safe.  For example:

Physical Security:  During the past four years, Lisa has supported changes to the facilities plan to ensure that every single school is equipped with a secure front entrance.  Lisa has also approved contracts to provide smart video monitoring of school buildings and grounds to identify safety threats or hazards.  Lisa supported the district's participation in the State of Iowa's School Safety Improvement program and encouraged the district to move forward with implementing the changes recommended by the State's vulnerability assessment.  These improvements should be completed this year.      

Physical and Emotional Safety: Lisa has supported the district's use of Care Assessment Teams to identify and prevent threats that can range from bullying and teasing to potential violence.  Lisa also voted in favor of implementing the Securly 24 monitoring tool for district technology devices.  Securly alerts the district when it detects activity such as searches, sites visited, or emails sent and received that indicate a student may be considering self-harm and harming others. The goal of this monitoring is to provide early notification of concerns so that families and schools can work together to provide intervention and support in an effort to circumvent violence and harm to oneself.  

Support the High Reliability Schools framework

High Reliability Schools is a framework that supports fulfilling the district's vision of equitable outcomes for all students.  It gives the district a common language to name what it's doing, assess the current reality, align initiatives, and determine where to go next.  Lisa is proud to support the district's mission in becoming a High Reliability School.  During the 22-23 school year, the district implemented Level 1 of the program which focused on building a safe, supportive, and collaborative culture in the buildings.  In the upcoming years, the district will focus on Level 2 which ensures effective teaching in every classroom, and Level 3 which concentrates on designing a guaranteed and viable curriculum.