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Getting the phones out of the classroom.

Does the new statewide initiative actually have a local impact and improving test scores?

As Iowa students see some erosion in the city's?

Bettendorf.

Schools.

Seeing some changes.

Plans for a new middle school are moving forward.

Just as the Edison Academy Alternative School started its first year in a renovated building.

But Bettendorf and other Iowa school districts are still facing sweeping changes approved by the Iowa legislature, involving books in the library's diversity, education and cell phone use.

It will have an impact on Bettendorf 4200 students.

And we're joined by the superintendent of Bettendorf Schools, Michelle Morse.

Superintendent, thanks for joining us.

Thank you.

The governor really made it a major point to have this cell phone mandate.

Yet about 85% of school districts already have certain rules or regulations or policies in regarding cell phones.

Let's start with, what Bettendorf does.

Right now, currently, we do have pretty strong policies in our parent student handbook.

The phrase that our secondary sites, middle school and high school uses off in a way.

So during instructional time, phones are to be off in a way, not to be visible.

And so we've had that, I think, since I've been there.

So but how does the state law affect that?

In terms of what I've seen in the law?

Because obviously it hasn't, I should say.

Still, the bill hasn't finished its way through.

Is my understanding, is that during instructional time, phones are not to be out so that students can focus on the learning process with the teachers and then my also my understanding is, requiring school districts to have a, an official board policy around that.

But I believe the bill also outlines that either the state or the Department of Ed or the Board of Educational Examiners, I can't remember which one.

We'll be providing some sample policies for districts to adapt and adopt.

Of all the state laws that have been aimed at education.

This appears to be the least onerous, so to speak, because so many of the policies are already in place in school districts.

Correct.

I would agree, I think, you know, my belief is we don't want those cell phones or the technology to be a distraction for students.

One of the interesting pieces as we have a discussion is leadership team is students already in our district are 1 to 1 from a technology standpoint.

So they have Chromebooks.

Well, we know our students are extremely resourceful and very bright.

So I also believe that we as educators need to teach our students how to be effective consumers of that technology in the media.

How do we also help them understand that everything they see or access from a technology standpoint, whether it be on a Chromebook or a cell phone or a smartwatch?

How do you ascertain if it's factual or not?

Where did that source come from?

And so, you know, we want to help students learn to self-regulate around the use of technology.

I also believe that we need to heavily monitor that during instructional time.

But also how do we teach them to be good consumers of that technology as well, because they're going to access it when they're not in the classroom with us, and it's always going to be there.

So how do we blend all of that together and still meet the the law?

Right.

We're going to be compliant.

Which I believe we're already 9/10 of the way there.

We have an off and away, policy during instructional time.

It clearly outlines that we've also updated our policies in elementary school, because we recognize that some families choose to, have access to that to students earlier, either through a watch or through a phone.

And so those have been we have a pretty aligned system, K-12 now.

And then we'll wait for guidance on whether a board policy needs to be developed.

One of the things in regards to this technology that schools have seen is the increase in bullying.

And that students, sometimes are relatively cruel, quicker in real time, involving phones.

Is that part of the lesson plan that you almost have to have almost teaching respect.

But in other ways, we're humans.

It's going to happen.

It's a great question.

I think that having been an educator for over 30 years, I think one of our most important roles is how do we help, students understand what it is to be kind and respectful and be a good person.

Right?

That is part of the role we have, and we hope that the family unit will come alongside us and help reinforce that as well.

Access to technology.

I think the conversations I've had with parents or educators has been when we were in school, and this technology thing didn't exist.

When we left school, if there was an issue at school or drama with friends at school, when we got home, it didn't exist, right?

There wasn't anything to perpetuate that.

Having had a daughter that just graduated from high school last year, what I can attest to and what you see is it's 24 over seven right there, never really away from it unless there's regulations around their use of phone.

I know at our house it was phones went on the counter at night and from dinner on we were we just didn't access technology.

We either read or watched a show together or played a game like that was what we did.

So and every family, that is unique to them, how they choose to monitor that.

But to that point, have we seen conflicts or I think you use the word drama perpetuate because of technology.

Yes.

But things also can escalate quickly or get maybe factual information can be misrepresented quickly, more quickly too, with technology.

We, we try in the education business to stay ahead of that.

But you know, with phones people can get information out there more quickly.

And so I think students just so how do we help them learn appropriate self-regulation skills when it comes to their technology?

To help them when do I need to take a break from it?

When do I need to step away?

Those kinds of things.

One other issue regarding a cell phone ban, so to speak, is, is some parents say I need to be able to contact my child in the case of an emergency.

And we have seen over and over again these chilling cell phone calls between parents and children at times of emergency.

How do you answer that issue?

That fear, that concern that a parent has?

I don't know that you can ever ally that fear that a parent has.

Having, in a previous district.

Where an active school violence happens on a campus.

And having had a daughter in that district, you know, it.

I can understand where parents are coming from.

And so I'm grateful that as our legislators and our governor are working through this policy, that it wasn't an all out ban of phones on campuses because I can respect where families are coming from, whether or not I personally agree or disagree on the full spectrum, you know, that doesn't matter.

It's how are we honoring our families who are important to the education of their children?

But yet also honoring the fact that we need kids present, during the school day to learn and to learn not only academically, but also learn, to become, stronger socially, emotionally and behaviorally.

And so how do we find a place which I believe that right now is that piece of legislation should it stay in, in the way that it is?

I think honors probably what the governor heard over the last 6 to 9 months before the session started around families fears, parents fears, educators concerns and feedback and where we should go forward.

The legislature really has been focused on K through 12 education, over the last two sessions in particular.

One of the big issues, of course, is LGBTQ issues.

The other one having to do with the school voucher program.

Let's start with school vouchers.

Are you getting a better handle of how it's impacting?

Because I've seen the population for Bettendorf schools hasn't really been as impacted as some had feared.

Is that a fair thing to say?

I would say that is a fair statement.

We have been pretty stagnant in our enrollment and have seen some decline.

What we were actually just talking about in a superintendent meeting last week, and I was talking with our board about in a board development workshop last week, was the overall birth rate in Scott County.

Is has declined.

And so we were naturally going to start seeing smaller income in kindergarten classrooms, so to speak.

I think the timing of the educational savings accounts, coupled with the decline in just overall birth rate for the county, kind of hit at the same time.

And so many want to attribute those declines to, you know, the educational savings accounts.

For us, I think it's a combination of both.

I know our my colleagues in the immediate area have also seen declining enrollment over the last couple of years.

And so we look to that and you mean the birth rate is an important component.

And looking at that, have we had students exercise their ability to access the savings accounts or vouchers?

We absolutely have.

But as we've all said, as we worked through that piece over the last few years, we're not opposed to school choice, right?

I think that is something unique to the state of Iowa.

And now other states across our country is giving parents the opportunity to choose what's best for their child.

In terms of some of the mandates or regulations, I think we would like to to see consistency, whether you're a private school, a charter school or a public school.

How do we have some of the consistent expectations across all those environments?

And so the LGBTQ issue, of course, and books inside the school library and who's taught what at what age?

That's been a major issue as far as the Republican led legislature is concerned.

There's also been some fears among teachers on how they might be held culpable for whatever is going on in the classroom or the school library.

A bit of a chilling effect.

What have you seen so far, and are you worried for your LGBTQ students who are so vulnerable?

I think what's so important, regardless of who you are, is a student or a staff member, is cultivating a learning environment where everybody feels welcome.

And that could be you could have those feelings of not feeling welcome for a variety of reasons, whether you're, you know, identify one way or the other, have a belief or even down to religious beliefs.

Right.

And so we work really hard.

One, we will always be compliant with the law, whether whether someone agrees or disagrees with a piece of legislation that was passed.

We are always going to follow what that law asks us to do.

But with that said, when we implement that law, I also want to make sure that we as an educational system, don't forget about the very people we serve, our staff and our students, and how do we create a warm, welcoming, inclusive environment around that.

And if something comes up as we're implementing that law, how do we work through that proactively?

And work through whatever challenge presents itself?

And so I think for us, that's the most important thing is continuing to focus on all of our students and cultivating that culture of just inclusivity and welcome a welcoming environment and supporting our teachers.

Because, as you said, over the last few years, there's been a lot of focus on K-12 education and I think they start to second guess, am I doing this right?

Can I get in trouble?

Am I going to lose my license?

And that is the worst feeling ever for doing what I think is a hero's job of preparing this next generation to go out into that post-secondary world, whatever that is, whether it's college or the workforce or the military.

We we've tried really hard to continue to support them, address their questions and their fears to the greatest extent possible.

But I would just like to see whether it's locally at the state level or nationally, that we continue to remember that our educators work hard every single day for students.

And that constant attack, whether it be at a local level or a national level, where they start to, internalize that and that starts to wear on them.

And I think we need to remember, they do all they do a lot, every single day.

They don't just educate students academically.

They're also a mentor.

And sometimes a confidante to students.

And so those that constant pressure around K-12 education can start to wear on them.

And so, we try hard to not only continue their learning, you know, in whatever area they're teaching, but also help them to take some time to focus on their own social emotional well-being and put supports in place for that.

The latest A report card for schools shows that Iowa statewide is falling, in reading and in, math, is what is Bettendorf doing?

Because Bettendorf numbers were pretty static, and and even static from the pandemic, which is somewhat surprising.

I mean, and I know education is shouldn't be based on a few sample, tests, but it is.

So are you satisfied with the reading and math levels of Bettendorf students?

So that I would be satisfied because I think we always could do better?

We cannot.

Yeah.

We focus on a model of continuous improvement.

Right.

How can we continue to get better for the students that we serve?

Post-pandemic, in my ten years since I've been there, we several years ago, before the science of reading became more of a statewide initiative, we had some teachers in our system that were very, committed to that.

And what the latest evidence and research based practices were around teaching students how to read, because reading is the foundation for everything, even in math and science and social studies, all your academic areas tie back to your ability to be a fluent reader.

And, they had undergone some specialized training and so came to me with her proposal about how could we start implementing these evidence based practices into our own district.

And we kicked off an initiative probably now three years ago.

And I want to say 100% of our preschool teachers have been trained.

It is close to 90% of our K through fifth grade teachers have been trained, both in what we call volume one and volume two of letters.

A program out there, a professional learning opportunity for teachers.

And then at the middle school level last year, we kicked off a year long training in a program called aspire, which is like the sister component to letters for special education teachers, English language arts teachers, our interventionists, and administrators at the middle school level.

So I'm very proud of that work that has been teacher developed, teacher led in our district to provide students access to the most current research out there.

We are starting to see some really nice growth in that arena around reading.

And then in terms of math, we had implemented a new program about three years ago and were starting to see some of the benefits of that as well, for students in their foundational skills.

And I recognize the governor and the legislators have a proposed bill on the table.

For some mandates around math, very similar to what they put in place for literacy over the years.

You know, we always look at it as opportunities to grow and how do we get better at what we do?

One area that you are trying to grow, of course, is the middle school, brand new plans, for a major construction project.

Tell me how that's going to improve, education for for these Bettendorf students.

Now we're excited.

We had to do a little bit scaled back version.

But the board has supported that.

We're going through focus groups with staff right now.

I think one of the biggest pieces is taking the core building that was built in the 60s, and trying to pretty much have it not be existent after we get through this, I think 3 to 5 year project.

Widening hallways, making sure ceiling heights are the same across the building currently in some of that original, footprint of the building.

The hallways are more narrow, the ceilings are lower.

So it's just very kind of closed in feeling.

Increasing the classroom sizes a little bit from what they are currently enabling.

The opportunity for students to work more collaboratively in groups when the situation necessitates itself.

Being able to implement different types of teaching strategies and maybe existed in the 60s when that building was built.

Overhauling the kitchen and giving it an updated kitchen.

That's a really big production kitchen for us in the district.

We have an outstanding nutrition services manager who has really worked with her staff to do what she calls more scratch cooking, some more homemade, cooking of meals on site from start to finish.

Which kids seem to be enjoying?

The feedback has been very positive, but also increasing the size of the cafeteria for students, making it brighter, bringing more natural light into the building overall, which research will say has a positive impact on just students social emotional well-being, their academic performance, and so really just refreshing that building.

We're also adding a wing of classrooms.

And creating a wing of classrooms for what we call steam steam classrooms.

So that will have more flexibility, to provide more opportunities for students to get some career exploration types of experience before they leave the middle school as they go into high school.

And that's proven to be more and more important is to get some some kind of a career, even at the middle school level.

And we have legislation in the state that talks about starting in sixth grade.

We have a district career readiness coordinator.

We've actually expanded that career kind of focused post-secondary readiness, as we call it, like how do we get students to be ready when they leave us after high school for whatever their next adventure is?

And we're starting that in kindergarten.

And, and very excited.

But having that flexibility in middle school, to do a coding class or, an updated kind of culinary opportunity to explore careers in that or really exploring the arts, in a, in a room that's more modern, up to date and would allow for that exploration in the middle school.

Our thanks to Bettendorf School superintendent Michelle Morrison.

Well, welcome to March.

When we put winter in our rearview mirror as we head closer to spring, let's check out some of the activities that are in store for all of us.

Thanks to visit Quad Cities.

Check out the things to do this week in the Quad Cities.

Start off with Tuesday Trivia night at Bally's Quad Cities on March 18th.

Then grab the kiddos for Spring Break workshop at Borden rush Quad Cities on March 19th.

Then you can watch a Quad City Storm Saint Patty's Day game at Vibrant Arena at the mark on March 20th.

Then you can head to circuit 21 dinner, play house to check out Heartbreak Hotel on March 21st, and finally try some yoga at Bends and Brews at Paw Bros.

Craft Taproom on March 23rd.

For more events like these, check out visit Quad cities.com.

Little Joe Russo has some performances booked on stages in the Quad City area, and will take part in this month's songwriter series.

It's going to be held at the Galena Center for the Arts.

We caught up with her when she played one of her originals at the Black Box Theater in Moline.

That's where she took to the stage to play Restless Soul.

There's a song down on Main Street.

Attracts me like a moth to a flame.

You.

Illuminating words saying thank you.

Please come back again.

It reminds my restless soul.

I've been here too long.

I without a word or a whisper.

I'm going.

Go on, go.

There's a girl back in Boston.

Remember?

She begged me.

When I took everything for granted.

Gave it all away for free.

Thank you.

It reminds me of a time when I thought I could do no wrong.

No.

And like a fading photograph.

Going.

Going down.

You.

Make.

Me.

I am tired of running.

By you.

From all the lies that I ever saw.

Comes a time and a place.

When you stand face to face.

With the weight of it all.

Heart and soul.

Be.

There's a side to the story.

No one has ever heard.

It's a sign that's the truth and a sign.

No one gets hurt.

I'm reminded that history is written by those who love strong.

And not be.

Just don't try.

I'm gone, gone, gone and gone.

Like.

I'm tired of running.

Bring.

All my faults and regrets.

Comes a time and a place.

When you stand face to face.

The weight of it all.

Hurt it to.

You.

You break your.

Back.

Oh, good.

It never.

Break.

La la la la la la la.

There's a sign of a hand telling me it's time to come home.

You.

Low Joe Russo and Restless Soul performed at the Black Box Theater in downtown Moline.

She has concerts scheduled in Muscatine, Moline and Burlington in the coming weeks.

On the air, on the radio, on the web, on your mobile device and streaming on your computer.

Thanks for taking some time to join us.

As we talk about the issues on the city's.

I am VCU.

We've always been here for you.

You are and always will be our top priority.

We care about your financial health, and we are here.

I am VCU is a proud supporter of WCU.

Public affairs programing on Wqpt is brought to you by the Singh Group at Merrill, serving the wealth management needs of clients in the region for over 35 years.

This program was made possible by viewers like you.

Thank you.