Creston Schools prepares for ECC schedule changes

With construction on Creston Schools’ Early Childhood Center delaying its scheduled opening to Sept. 15, the district has made plans for temporary classrooms and remote learning while also reminding parents to remain attentive to any further changes.

The Creston’s school board met Monday with the majority of discussion revolving around schedule and facility changes for kindergarten classes during the start of the year.

Last week, the district issued a release which informed parents of new schedule formats due to construction delays on the ECC. These delays affect the kindergarten and preschool classes, which will have different schedules as the district works around the ongoing situation.

Families with children entering kindergarten will have a two-week “soft start to school” experience in temporary classrooms in the elementary school beginning Monday, Aug. 25. Kindergarteners will have class in these classrooms for two weeks.

From Sept. 8-12, kindergartners will not have classes in school, but will instead have at-home learning options according to the school board. Superintendent Deron Stender said this week will be similar to how the district prepares classes for snow days with remote learning.

Teachers will prepare packet materials and virtual programs to encourage kindergartners to learn during this time. The district named this week of remote learning, “Ready, Set, Move!”

Preschoolers will not start school until the ECC opens Monday, Sept. 15, assuming no further delays.

Families had the chance to meet with educators during a meeting on Tuesday. A part of this process is acclimating not just students and families but also teachers to their temporary learning environments.

“Many people are dislocated to make room for other classrooms,” Stender said.

As construction continues, Stender recommends parents stay aware of any changes which might need to occur, such as with student drop-off locations. He said the district is also functioning on the “ebb and flow” of the construction.

“There’s a lot of frustration, a lot of challenges that come with this,” Stender said. “All we can do is say, be patient, be flexible because we don’t know [everything].”

In other school board news...

Stender reported all positions have been filled at Creston Schools, citing “good design” in hiring and various programs which encourage retention in the district. Crediting a strong PLC, Stender had high praise for the environment in the district.

“I think we’re in the best position we’ve ever had been in my seven years in the district to see things take off,” Stender said.

A first reading of revised policies was held during Monday’s meeting. School policies were revised to meet state law. A second reading will take place during September’s meeting.

These changes include a new definition of what constitutes bullying or harassment, training for new board members on open meeting laws and abuse of student investigations to now be performed by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.

AEDs will be available for every district vehicle. Through LifeGuard MD, 26 AEDs will be purchased for $53,300 using SAVE/PPEL resources. A suggestion was given by the board to have drivers and staff who use these vehicles to have CPR training.

The district accepted a distribution of $33,096.76 from state funds to be used as salary supplements for classified staff.

The board approved the ability of the superintendent (Stender) to approve or deny open enrollment requests.

The school board approved the following list of August 2025 contracts and resignations:

Contracts: Caleb Maxwell, elementary/middle para; Stephanie Baucom, middle para; Arianna Gomez, assistant girls soccer coach; Sarah Guthrie, assistant girls tennis coach; Preston Fleharty, seventh grade assistant football coach; Hallie Powers, junior class sponsor; Deren Fry, bus driver; Pamela Shady, bus para.

Resignations: Cole Crawford, seventh grade assistant football coach, eighth grade girls basketball coach; Lindsay Adamson, para; Russell Orr, bus driver; Sara Keeler, high school assistant girls wrestling coach; Addison Shay, accounts payable; Teri Keeler, IT; Sara Lane, middle school student council sponsor; Willam Ralston, assistant girls soccer coach; Edward Jones, custodian.