Local legislators tour Newton schools

Three Iowa lawmakers were given tours Friday morning of Newton Community School District campuses to get a first-hand look at what is happening inside classrooms.

Conflicting schedules only allowed Sen. Amy Sinclair, R-Allerton; Sen. Zach Nunn, R-Bondurant; and Rep. Wes Breckenridge, D-Newton, to visit two of the four schools chosen by the district for the tour: Emerson Hough Elementary School and Berg Middle School.

Conversely, legislators were not able to browse the classrooms of Newton High School and Woodrow Wilson Elementary School.

Originally derived from the Iowa Association of School Boards’ Day on the Hill Conference in February — in which legislators network and discuss issues with educators and the like from across the state — the almost three-hour-long visit was led by NCSD Superintendent Bob Callaghan.

The scholarly excursion showcased the school district’s utilization of Secure an Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE) funds to remodel Emerson Hough and build the E.J.H. Beard Administration Center, the place where the legislators met before kickstarting their tour. They were also introduced to the new, $27 million Berg Middle School, which opened its doors to students in January.

In addition to being exposed to the schools’ technology usage and new facilities, legislators were shown the programs and classrooms dedicated to helping kids with mental health issues or special needs. They also listened to firsthand accounts of teachers who struggle to help those kids afflicted with mental health issues inside general population classrooms.

Callaghan said, “There’s concerns statewide about the mental health, especially for children, and what the schools are doing to support that.”

A system supporting children’s mental health care has become a “priority” for Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, the Des Moines Register’s Tony Leys reported in February. The children’s mental health bill proposal, however, has raised concerns about funding and for lacking finer details.

As the chair of Senate Education Committee, Sinclair acknowledged she does not know everything that is introduced in the Health and Human Services-focused bill and “whether it makes sense with what’s going on in education,” but she also said there is likely a need for it to help students and their respective families.

“The idea the governor has brought forward about making sure there’s a children’s division within the broader scope of our mental health regions makes sense because families will be able to be served as a whole unit,” Sinclair said.

Breckenridge and Nunn were told about a teacher’s difficult experience integrating a student with self-destructive behaviors into the classroom. They learned of the staff’s difficulties in restraining and helping the student effectively while still giving adequate attention to other students.

Not every NCSD elementary school, they learned, has a program specifically designated for students with behavioral disorders. Sometimes, resource special education instructors act as the behavioral specialist; in a sense, those teachers are conducting two different jobs.

In the special education rooms of Emerson Hough and Berg Middle School, Callaghan noted there is a “high, adult-to-student ratio.” About 13 percent of the NCSD student population, he added, receive Individualized Education Program/Plan (IEP) services, which mainly affect children that need special education, have a disability or require other specific arrangements.

Upon finishing his tour of Berg, Breckenridge said what he noticed was staff could use more trained personnel to help those students in need. That is the hope of the children’s mental health bill, he added.

“They’re struggling because we don’t have enough providers available,” Breckenridge said. “That was another thing that was interesting to hear firsthand. That not getting in until three weeks to see a counselor (outside the schools). That’s an issue.”

Contact Christopher Braunschweig at 641-792-3121 ext. 6560 or cbraunschweig@newtondailynews.com