Community Provides Authentic Research

On Friday, April 8th, 4^th graders from Wilkins, Novak, Echo Hill, Bowman Woods, Indian Creek, and Westfield came to the LRC to meet with a volunteer for thirty minutes in order to learn about the state they were studying for State Fest projects.  The Elementary Instructional Coaches contacted Karla Terry, Community Relations Coordinator for the district, to once again find volunteers willing to share information about a state they lived in prior to moving to Iowa.  This was a huge undertaking to find 49 volunteers who could spend nearly the whole day at the LRC, Learning Resource Center.

The Elementary Instructional Coaches met several times to plan out the day.   They received help from several other people in the district as well:  Debra Barry, Erin Watts, Brent Wilfong, Gayla Burgess, Casey Fasselius , Phil Miller, and the LRC custodial staff (Rex, Daisy, and Dustin).

On the day of the event, schools arrived in shifts.  Brent organized the transportation to and from the LRC for all of the volunteers and students.  This was also a huge task, and everything flowed smoothly.  Students had a list of questions to ask their volunteer, and several of the volunteers had other information to share.  Many of the volunteers brought I-Pads, items that represented the state they were presenting, and even maps to help the students learn valuable information to use back at school as they created projects for their State Fest Celebrations.

This project was such a success that all of the elementary coaches would like to continue it again next year!  Thanks again to all of our wonderful volunteers and the 4^th grade teachers for their support in making this event a memorable one for the Linn-Mar 4^th graders!