From left, Union Director of Curriculum Corindy Stoakes, Angelisa Fynaardt with the Iowa Department of Education (IDOE), IDOE Director McKenzie Snow, Dysart-Geneseo Elementary Principal Derek Weber, and Union Superintendent John Howard pose for a photograph together during Snow’s visit to the district on Sept. 4. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

DYSART – Union Community School District staff and students at Dysart-Geneseo Elementary welcomed Iowa Department of Education (IDOE) Director McKenzie Snow on Thursday, Sept. 4, as part of her recent visits to schools in each of the state’s nine Area Education Agency (AEA) regions.

“They wanted to visit schools in each AEA region that have been doing exemplary work in statewide priority areas,” DG Principal Derek Weber told the newspaper in an email. “They were interested in our district’s participation in LETRS [Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling] and the impact we are seeing in ELA [English Language Arts] growth and ELA proficiency. LETRS training was offered to schools free of charge by the state and we took advantage of the opportunity.”

LETRS, distributed by Lexia – an educational technology company, “teaches the skills needed to master the foundational and fundamentals of reading and writing instruction – phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and written language,” according to the company’s website.

In recent years, Union has experienced “major growth in the area of reading,” Weber added, contributing to the IDOE visit. “DG was selected due to proximity and schedule constraints of the team visiting, [but] this opportunity was for all of Union. It was exciting to show the great things we are doing at DG.”

During the afternoon visit, Snow was accompanied by Dr. Angelisa Fynaardt, Division Administrator for Special Education Continuous Improvement and Compliance, and Heather Doe, IDOE’s Direction of Communications. While observing, Union Superintendent John Howard, Union Director of Curriculum Corindy Stoakes, and Weber were all able to speak with the state delegation.

Director McKenzie Snow observes a student at DG Elementary on Thursday, Sept. 4, as part of the Iowa Department of Education’s visit to the school. The student was working independently using an online reading program. PHOTO BY PEG HENNINGS

“[We discussed] important education topics like teacher recruitment and retention, evidence-based math instruction, growth and proficiency across other content areas, career-connected learning or work-based learning,” Weber said. “Director Snow gave us updates on statewide initiatives to help support schools and was receptive to feedback from us as an instructional team. We were very appreciative of the opportunity to showcase our phenomenal staff and students in the classroom.”

Over the course of an hour, Snow observed the progression of DG’s multi-tiered support system for reading including a whole class lesson (Tier I), small groups (Tier II), and an intensive intervention group in a Title I classroom (Tier III).

As part of a press release issued by Union ahead of the event, Howard reflected on the district, which is served by Central Rivers AEA, being chosen for the visit.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for our district to showcase the learning, commitment, and progress that our staff has worked so hard to achieve,” Howard said. “While Director Snow’s schedule allows for observations at DG Elementary only, it’s important to note that this reflects the efforts of staff across Union schools.”