Washington education

From left, Kyra Tonkins, a second grader, leads Kindergartner Nora Tonkins off the bus for the first day of school in Washington. (Kalen McCain/The Union)

Third graders at Lincoln Elementary in Washington dive into their newly acquired dictionaries. (Photo submitted)

Union photo of high school sophomores at the Washington Kirkwood Regional Center’s career day

WASHINGTON COMMUNITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Central Administration Building: 404 W. Main St. 319-653-6543

The Washington Community School District covers a 208-square-mile area in the center of Washington County and a small portion of Jefferson County; including the cities of Washington and Brighton. It is a Class 3A school in the Southeast Conference.

The school has an enrollment of 1,580 students and 324 employees — including teachers, secretaries, bus drivers, cooks, custodians, aides and administrators. There are 155 certified staff within the four schools, 62 of whom have a master’s degree or higher education. The district maintains fleet of 17 buses transporting approximately 700 students per day.

The schools have daily on-site food preparation in each attendance center with a breakfast program, salad bar and a la carte items offered. The schools have also been advancing their energy efficiency, with up-to-date HVAC systems, lighting, and fire systems. The school have a one-to-one student computer ratio, and many of the classrooms are media-enabled and wired for surround sound.

The district is the largest in the county, and offers students the benefits of a large school with the quality of life of a small town.

BOARD OF EDUCATION

The school board meets at 7 p.m. on the second Wednesday of the month, usually at the district’s central administration building unless otherwise posted. Once per year, the group meets instead at the Brighton Community Building.

Troy Suchan, President, District 3. tsuchan@washington.k12.ia.us

Kelly Smith, District 1. ksmith@washington.k12.ia.us

James Almelien, District 2. Jalmelie@washington.k12.ia.us

Sonia Leyva, District 4. sleyva@washington.k12.ia.us

Mindi Rees, District 5. mrees@washington.k12.ia.us

Mike Liska, At-Large. mliska@washington.k12.ia.us

Eric Turner, At-large. eturner@washington.k12.ia.us

ST. JAMES SCHOOL

602 W. Second St. 319-653-4504

St. James School has a long-standing tradition of providing a well-rounded education in a Catholic setting for over 150 years. The first St. James School building was erected in 1866, just west of the present structure, and the original structure remains at that location today as a private residence. A convent/school housing grades 1-12 was built in 1901 on the site, which currently serves as the south parking lot.

The present school was dedicated in 1957 with four religious sisters teaching grades 1-8. The current staff continues to maintain the tradition of providing high quality academic programming while guiding students in grades preschool through fifth as they develop into lifelong learners of their Christian Faith.

BOARD OF EDUCATION:

The St. James school board holds a public meeting every third Wednesday of the month in the Parish Conference Room at 6:30 p.m.

President Dan Berdo, danberdo@gmail.com

Vice President Katee Vittetoe, kateevittetoe@gmail.com

Member Doug McBride, douglasjmcbride88@gmail.com

Member Amy Vittetoe, ams.stout@gmail.com

Member Jessica Janecek, jk.janecek@gmail.com

Member Darren Beuchle, darrenceuchle@hotmail.com

Member Kirsten Minino, kminino1@gmail.com

Secretary Regina Schantz, schantzregina@gmail.com

KIRKWOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE REGIONAL CENTER

2192 Lexington Blvd.

Kirkwood’s Washington County Regional Center offers all the services of a community college, right in your backyard. Complete a college degree with liberal arts and science transfer courses, earn college credit while in high school through industry-focused Career Academies, earn a high school equivalency diploma, learn English language skills, simply take continuing education classes and more.

Tera Pickens, Director 319-653-4655 x2203. tera.pickens@kirkwood.edu

Jamie Foster, Center Coordinator, 319-653-4655 x2201. jamie.foster@kirkwood.edu

Ryan Ronan, Student Academic Support Coordinator 319-653-4655 x2208. ryan.ronan@kirkwood.edu

Monie Hayes, Adult Literacy Coordinator/ELL Coordinator, 319-653-4655 Ext. 2204. monie.hayes@kirkwood.edu

Bridgett Arreola, Center Assistant, 319-653-4655 Ext. 2209. bridgett.arreola@kirkwood.edu

Julie Messer, Office Assistant,319-653-4655 Ext. 5044. julie.messer@kirkwood.edu