Edwards Elementary Chess Club
Every Tuesday and Thursday, sometimes as early as 12:10, a line begins forming outside a room at Edwards Elementary. Anxious students duck in and out,…
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Healthiest Ames, Mary Greeley Foundation Provide Area Third and Fourth Graders with Helmets
After a pandemic-related interruption, Healthiest Ames has again partnered with Mary Greeley Medical Foundation and Skunk River Cycles to provide area third and fourth graders…
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Masked Hero: Mark Royer
Superpower: The ability to see the world with childlike wonder. The ability to see the world with childlike wonder is a superpower that transcends time and allows Mark Royer to connect with students on a unique level. “I'm just a big kid disguised as an adult.” Royer has been with the Ames district since 2001 and as a full-time Extended Learning Program (ELP) elementary teacher since 2013.
Read morePBIS at Edwards Elementary
When students are learning how to read, add, or how to spell, we teach them. That same principle must apply to how students behave throughout the day at school. Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a “philosophy intended to guide the behavioral support and social culture needed for all students in a school to achieve social, emotional, and academic success.” It is a school-wide framework that focuses on the positive things that students are doing. This is an examination of what that looks like at Edwards Elementary School. School discipline has traditionally responded to specific student misbehavior by implementing punishment-based strategies that may include reprimands, loss of privileges, and office referrals. This approach, especially when applied inconsistently and without other positive strategies, is proven to be ineffective. With PBIS, consequences will still occur, but are not the focus; teaching expected behavior and rewarding those behaviors consistently is the focus. PBIS looks to establish a climate in which safe and appropriate behavior is the norm.
Read moreElementary Reading: FUNdations and Reading Units of Study
After an extensive review process including feedback and input from staff, students, and community members, Ames CSD purchased the research-based Reading Units of Study for all EK-5th grade classrooms. Reading Units of Study utilizes a reading workshop model where students spend significant time reading books of their choice and writing about those books. Students also learn with teachers in one on one conferences as well as in small group instructional teams. Finally, collaborative and sharing opportunities are built into the reading workshop.
Read moreSafety Patrol at Edwards Elementary
If you visited Edwards Elementary School this year in the morning during student drop off time, you were likely greeted with a friendly smile and saw students high-fiving each other. This is the work of Safety Patrol, a rotating team of nearly 30 fifth graders who are taking the lead on establishing a positive environment in their building by greeting students at the front door and at designated points throughout the school. Principal Kristi Mixdorf saw this concept modeled at another school and approached fifth-grade teacher Chris Douglas about implementing it at Edwards. Douglas said, “I told her I wanted to continue looking for leadership opportunities for our 5th graders so I decided to take the lead on this and told the kids and parents what we envisioned this looking like.”
Read moreAmes Community Gives Free Bike Helmets to Every Third Grader
For the third year, members of the Healthiest Ames Board of Directors, in collaboration with other community partners, spent a morning at each Ames…
Read moreKristi Mixdorf named as new Edwards Elementary Principal
The Ames Community School District is pleased to announce Kristi Mixdorf as the new principal of Edwards Elementary. She will replace Dave Peterson who announced his retirement earlier this year. Ms. Mixdorf will officially start her new position on July 1, 2018. Mixdorf has 18 years of experience in education as both a leader and teacher. She is currently serving as Director of Teaching and Learning for the North Polk Community School District, and her previous experience included being an Instructional Coach in Ankeny, and a classroom teacher in both the Ankeny and Des Moines School Districts. She obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of Northern Iowa, and her Masters in Education degree from Viterbo University, where she also served as an adjunct professor for five years. Mixdorf is a highly engaged professional who has participated in a variety of professional development opportunities including presentations at local and national conferences.
Read moreRead-a-Thon Celebration
In January, elementary schools across the District organized read-a-thon events in collaboration with their PTOs. “The goal is to get students to develop a passion…
Read moreI.O.W.A. STEM Teacher Award
Teresa Green, K-5 Technology Teacher at Edwards Elementary, was recently selected as the North Central Iowa Region’s recipient of the 2018 I.O.W.A. STEM Teacher Award. The award is established through the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council and sponsored by Kemin Industries. It recognizes “exceptional dedication toward increasing student interest and achievement in STEM fields and careers in innovation.” Green is a 30 year veteran teacher (25 in the Ames CSD) who started as an elementary music teacher. She got her Masters of Curriculum and Instructional Technology degree from Iowa State University, and today is a the K-5 Technology Teacher at Edwards Elementary.
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