POINTS of PRIDE: Aplington-Parkersburg School District

If one were to visit the Aplington-Parkersburg School District, a scan of the area reveals a path of new houses.   Within that path lies a beautiful high school, all brought about by a community who understands the meaning of resilience. Quite simply, A-P stands as a testament to the word resilience - the ability and capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. In May 2008, an F-5 tornado about a mile wide wiped out a third of the city. It leveled the high school and left the football field in ruins. In less than two years after the tornado, students attended classes in a beautiful $19 million high school. Aplington-Parkersburg School District is all about partnerships - with the community, with the Cedar Valley West program, with Hawkeye Community College, and with the districts of Dike-New Hartford, Grundy Center, and Gladbrook-Rheinhart. 

My visit to the area began with lunch at a local icon - THE FALCON'S NEST.  It is a community hangout filled with photos honoring the A-P School District.  Even though  it was January, there was talk about football.  This area boasts four NFL players who graduated from here, quite an accomplishment for a small district.  A visit to this cafe made me look with excitement at what I would discover about A-P. 

DEMOGRAPHICS
Enrollment - 830
Free & Reduced Lunch - around 40%

A-P works hard to meet the diverse learning needs of its students.  There is a Falcon time at the end of the day which provides time to focus on 21st Century Skills. An Advisor-Advisee time is also built into the day where a teacher is assigned around 13 students to mentor.  As we know, relationships are critical to encourage students to stay in school and achieve to the best of their ability.  Next year will begin their 1:1 initiative with Chromebooks in grades 6-12.  In both the Middle School and High School, they are piloting AIW (Authentic Intellectual Work) as they closely examine implementation of Iowa Core and the enhancement of their Professional Learning Communities process.

A Point of Pride is the music department with 9 All Staters this year - 7 vocal and 2 instrumental.  There is a growing interest in the arts and theater.  The TAG program is expanding through participation in the Academic Decathlon.  In their first year 2014, they were a state qualifier.  Students also participate in Physics Olympics and the CyberPatriot competition.  According to the website, "CyberPatriot is the National Youth Cyber Education Program.  There are 3 main programs within Cyber Patriot:  the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition, AFA CyberCamps, and the Elementary School School Cyber Education initiative.  CyberPatriot was conceived by the Air Force Association (AFA) to inspire high school students toward careers in cybersecurity or other science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines critical to our nation's future."  The building comes alive as students take ownership for their learning through technology.  A-P was also a national winner in the CSPAN video contest.  In high school students can take a web design class and next year there will be a high school Tech Club.  Other opportunities for students include a Fashion Design class where students design dresses, shoes, and accessories.  The FFA program is strong and includes soil fertilizer testing and access to a drone used to record football activities and golfing.  A big part of the drone program is discussion of what is ethical when recording activities, an important skill to learn in today's technology rich environment.  Many opportunities in this district for students to find their passion.

There is a strong partnership with Cedar Valley West led by Sherry Walker, the School to work Director for the four districts in the area.  This program provides career exploration through internships and job shadowing opportunities for juniors and seniors through an intermediary grant.  This program is handled through the community college, an outreach by Hawkeye Community College.  Each internship (for seniors only) is one trimester of high school credit with 40% of the internships turning into part time jobs.  The Cedar Valley West program averages 175-200 job shadows per year with each "shadow" consisting of one day for both juniors and seniors. 

Aaron Thomas & Sherry Walker, A-P leaders

Aaron Thomas, High School Principal, describes A-P as a district that is something special.  The community is highly involved and has a sense of pride while graduates from A-P tend to come back and help in the schools.  In Mr. Thomas's words, "When you empower young learners, it grows within them a sense of home and they become a part of the culture of the district."

There is a beautiful mural on the wall of Aplington-Parkersburg, serving as a tribute to Aaron's father, Ed Thomas, who was killed while working at a summer weight lifting program at A-P in 2009.  Ed Thomas was known as a man of integrity and character who helped rebuild the community after the tornado. He also was a successful football coach and the football field is named the Ed Thomas field.  His story is found in the book SACRED ACRE.  On the hallway mural as well as on a plaque by the field are Ed's words:  "If all I taught you is how to block and tackle, then I have failed as a coach."  

There is no failing at Aplington-Parkersburg as they prepare students to meet the challenges of the 21st Century.  They are building a strong culture of achievement in all areas, not just sports, and their example of resilience sends a message to everyone.  In the words of Nelson Mandela, "The greatest glory in living lies not in never failing, but in rising every time we fall."