Grinnell School Superintendent Janet Stutz highlighted four unique and different challenges that education faces today during the weekly meeting of the Rotary Club held Tues., March 3.
Foremost among this is safety and security, she said. Coincidentally, Stutz faced a lock-down situation at the Grinnell High School and Bailey Park Elementary School that same morning when a suspicious-looking man dressed in a trench coat and carrying heavy bags was spotted near the area. Her first instinct was to make sure that the students were safe. She immediately ordered a lock-down. The police came right away, checked every room, and determined there was no intruder. “It was a kind of situation when one has to make 30 decisions in the first six minutes,” she said.
Stutz sent out timely communication via the school website, text, FB, and media to combat the rumor mills and assure parents and the community that there was no danger. Stutz said that she “was extremely proud of the way the teachers, staff, and students acted today. We plan (for situations like this), review constantly, share info, debrief, and learn.”
A second challenge that schools face today is the “high mental health needs of students,” Stutz said. She said that trauma affects about 20 percent of the student population. Grinnell, like the rest of Iowa, employs a “trauma-informed care” approach. Instead of asking, “what is wrong with this child,” teachers are trained to ask, “what happened to this child.” A determination is made whether a child has suffered an “acute” or “chronic” trauma. Knowing the specific situation of a child helps pave the way to helping the child.
A new approach to deal with students exhibiting violent behavior is “room clear.” Stutz explains that this would involve creating therapeutic rooms for these students. Grinnell will have a therapeutic room in the high school and in Bailey Park with trained teachers and social workers. A current bill in the Iowa legislature is being considered to fund these therapeutic rooms in school districts.
A third challenge is teacher shortage. Stutz cited that in the past, there would be 800 applications for one teaching position. “Now, we are lucky if we get five applications for one position,” she said. Today, Iowa needs 75 special education teachers. There are no applicants. Schools districts resort to incentives such as sign-up bonus.
Finally, Stutz cited the need for high schools to provide career technical education. “College is not for everyone. We have a great need for plumbers, electricians, welders, auto mechanics,” she said. Thus, Stutz has established partnerships with businesses to provide high school students experience in these technical fields.
The Grinnell Rotary Club meets every Tuesday at 6 p.m. at West Side Dining on 6th Ave., Grinnell.