Unit 10 Tour Begins With Visit to SE Webster-Grand

On Tuesday, September 19 my day began in Burnside. EA President Barb Peterson (pictured in blue t-shirt), a High School Art teacher, had a morning schedule filled for UniServ Director Steve King and me.

It was homecoming week in SE Webster- Grand on Tuesday students were dressed in colors according to their year in school. Pictured here is a group of Juniors all dressed in pink. In the middle of the group (dressed in a blue staff t-shirt) is teacher Kendra Breitsprecher.

The first class that I met with was Kendra Breitsprecher’s “Writing for Media” class. Pictured here are (from left to right) Chris, Gary and Rebecca. Their actual article will appear in the Dayton community newspaper on October 11th.

The 2nd class I visited was teacher Rob Zigrang’s Junior and Senior Government class. Rob shared with me that he once taught in the Council Bluffs Community School District at Wilson Junior High—the school that my elementary fed into! How fun to see a colleague from my home district that had moved on! Here Rob (with a tie on) is preparing to introduce me to his class. I shared with the students the impact state government has on their lives as a student and the education setting in our schools.

The last class I spoke to was Jori Lizer’s 10-11-12 graders in her “Entrepreneurship” class. Jori, as you see, is all decked out for Homecoming week too! She is pictured here with UniServ Director Steve King. In this class UniServ Director Steve King joined with me and sharing with students the development of Unions as well as reasons unions continue today. Jori has long-served as the local’s Chief Negotiator.

Before leaving SE Webster Grand, President Barb Peterson introduced us to Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Mike Jorgensen. Dr. Jorgensen shared with us that he is the director of the Iowa Central Charter High School in SWG. It is the first of its kind in the state and the most significant thing is it provides underclassmen in high school with the opportunity to begin their college career at no expense to themselves. For more information, go to the district’s website at http://www.se-webster.k12.ia.us/