Board Honors Partnership Between Heartland AEA & Knoxville’s West Elementary

John Keitges (left) and Dave Wood (right) were honored by Heartland AEA Board president Ann Wilson for their leadership in helping West Elementary receive a national designation.

November 9, 2010

Knoxville’s West Elementary was honored by the Heartland Board of Directors at its October meeting for being identified by the U.S. Department of Education as a 2010 No Child Left Behind Blue Ribbon School. West was one of five schools in Iowa and over 300 in the U.S. to receive this designation earlier this fall.

The Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors schools whose students achieve at very high levels or have made significant progress and helped close gaps in achievement, especially among disadvantaged and minority students.

West was honored for it success shown in the areas of reading and math on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. Scores achieved by West fifth graders during the 2008-09 school year were in the top 10% of schools in Iowa, with all fifth graders testing at 100% proficient in math.

John Keitges, who was the principal at West Elementary during the 2008-09 year, was in attendance at the Board meeting to represent his district and receive the Board’s recognition. Keitges was joined by Dave Wood (Partnership Director/KN), who Keitges said is a great partner with his district along with all Heartland staff who serve Knoxville’s students and educators.

Also receiving recognition for their work with Knoxville students were Sheila Fay (Professional Learning & Leadership Consultant – Regional/KN) and Shannon Harken (Professional Learning & Leadership Consultant – IDM/KN) and Knoxville teachers Becky McCleery, Kathy Wilson and Ruthann Burkman.

“There is a strong collaboration between the AEA and our district,” Keitges said. “IDM (Instructional Decision Making) and PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) were really pivotal and strengthened an already high achieving learning environment. We were pretty excited to be nominated. This is an award for the school, district and community and the AEA.”

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Heartland AEA is an intermediate education agency serving 11 counties and 136,000 students in Central Iowa. The Agency is committed every day to helping people grow, develop and learn.