In the spring of 2011, the Scott County Regional Authority awarded the Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency (AEA) a grant in the amount of $44,240. This grant was provided for the two-year maintenance contract/license renewal of the Fortinet Firewall used at the Mississippi Bend AEA. The renewal of the maintenance and license agreement is a small, but important piece of a larger project.

In 1995, the Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency (AEA) led its partner districts and schools to form a wide area network (WAN) in order to consolidate services, facilitate communication between districts, and benefit from economies of scale. Today, data lines for the districts and schools aggregate at the AEA, which provides a connection to the Internet and firewall, DNS, filtering, traffic shaping, monitoring and data archiving services. The Mississippi Bend AEA provides services to districts and schools in Cedar, Clinton, Jackson, Louisa, Muscatine and Scott Counties; a client-base of approximately 50,000 students and 4,000 faculty and staff.

The WAN has become an integral part of education throughout the districts served by the AEA. Students and staff rely upon this valuable resource daily and therefore need a stable environment in which to learn, teach and communicate. Along with the increased demand for bandwidth has come increased use of the WAN outside traditional school hours. Parent portals, online learning resources, electronic grade books, one-to-one computer initiatives and other network intensive resources, require access to more bandwidth, and have also caused a shift in the operating model of the WAN. The previous acceptance of service from 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM, five days a week has now become an expectation of continuous 24 hour a day service with decreased frequency and duration of any unavoidable outages. This grant will help provide a firewall that should reduce down time where students and staff lose access to the WAN and Internet to minutes rather than hours.

The districts and schools count on the AEA Information Technology (IT) Department to maintain a network that can grow as their demands grow with as few interruptions of service as possible. This grant will not only help provide the stable, responsive network districts need today, but will also support future growth as they expand their one-to-one laptop initiatives and increase online learning opportunities.

 

#          #          #

 

 

The Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency is one of nine AEAs across the state of Iowa created by the 1974 Iowa Legislature. It provides educational services, media services and special education services to approximately 50,000 students in twenty-two public school districts and twenty-two approved non-public schools in Cedar, Clinton, Jackson, Louisa, Muscatine and Scott Counties.

 

The Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, gender identity, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, socioeconomic status, or disability in its educational programs, services or employment practices. Inquiries concerning this statement should be addressed to Dr. Edward Gronlund, Equity Coordinator, at 563-344-6315.

 

If Congress fails to act, student loan interest rates will double in July

Washington, DC - Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) today urged House leaders to begin working immediately to pass legislation to stop the looming increase in federally subsidized student loan interest rates.  Unless Congress acts, student loan interest rates will double to 6.8 percent on July 1, 2012.

Last month, Braley introduced a bill to indefinitely keep the interest rate for federally subsidized Stafford loans at their current rate of 3.4 percent.

"Iowa college graduates have the 3rd highest student debt load in the nation," Braley said.  "Piling thousands of dollars more in debt on them puts Iowa students even further behind at graduation. Our colleges and universities are avenues of economic opportunity, and we need to keep higher education affordable for every person who wants to attend.

"That's why I'm urging House leaders to begin working now to pass legislation keeping student loan rates low.  After witnessing the debacle over extending the middle class tax cut, we don't need college affordability to devolve into another down-to-the-wire partisan shouting match."

Braley made the request in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, which can be read below and downloaded at the following link: http://go.usa.gov/QrW

--

 

February 7, 2012

 

The Honorable John Boehner                       

Speaker                       

U.S. House of Representatives               

H-232, U.S. Capitol                       

Washington, DC 20515                         

 

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi

Minority Leader

U.S. House of Representatives

H-204, U.S. Capitol

Washington, DC 20515

 

Dear Speaker Boehner and Minority Leader Pelosi:

As you may know, interest rates on subsidized Stafford loans are scheduled to double on July 1^st, 2012, unless congressional action is taken.  Please work together to pass legislation to prevent this drastic increase.

Currently, the interest rate for subsidized Stafford loans is set at 3.4%, as a result of legislation passed into law in 2007.  If this provision expires, then interest rates on subsidized Stafford loans will double to 6.8% on July 1^st.  This increase would add tens of thousands of dollars in extra cost for students trying to pay for college.  For example, a student taking out the maximum $23,000 in subsidized student loans would see an increase of $5,200 over a 10-year repayment period and $11,300 over a 20-year repayment period.

As college tuition continues to drastically rise, students cannot afford thousands of more dollars in bills because Congress failed to act.  After witnessing the debacle that occurred over the payroll tax extension, I would hate to see a similar scenario occur with this issue.  Please pass legislation to prevent an increase in student loan interest rates before July 1^st.  I stand ready to work in any way possible to make sure we keep student loan interest rates at their current level.

 

Sincerely,

Bruce L. Braley

 

# # #

?????CONGRATULATIONS TO JORDAN CATHOLIC'S HONOR ROLL STUDENTS

GRADE 6
OUTSTANDING
Zoe Arvanitis
Alyssa Carpita
Ethan Castellaw
Madeline Chambers
Bailey Estes
Amber Guzzo
Brendan Hird
Mindy Hoang
John Huntley
Kyle Hyder
Cloie Jennings
Alyssa Klauer
Ben Luppen
Will Mihm
Rebecca Nonnenmann
Jenna Pauley
Jessica Pauley
Lauryn Praet
Collin Rogiers
Clare VanSpeybroeck
David Willaert
Brenon Wilson

Megan Beckwith
Maris Boelens
Sidney Boelens
Conner Boyd
Augie Darrow
Brian Do
Lisa Do
Samuel Dodson
Michael Elliott
Peter Moens
Emily Ostrowski
Ashley Slaight
Miranda Zinke

THESE SECOND QUARTER

Kate Florence
Kathy Hougland
Bryce Humphrey
Grace Maloney
Katie Maloney
Andy Maynard
Marina Pickslay
Abby Springsteen

GRADE 7
DISTINGUISHED
Noel Huntley
Samantha Sharp
Peyton Tanghe

GRADE 6
DISTINGUISHED
Justin Bost
Bridget Ferguson
Makenna Freyberger
Allison Hannah
Erik Hoffman
Zachary Larson
Anna Marlof
Daniel Powers
Caden Punkiewicz
Luke Trondson

GRADE 8
DISTINGUISHED
Emily Bauer
Lily Coleman
Lilia Darrow
Jenna Fisher
Dominic Huntley
Andy Maloney
Peter Mihm
Ali Milani
Jasmine Moseley
Rachel Patting
Brooke Sheraden
Cassie Wales
Kyler Yodts

GRADE 8
OUTSTANDING
James Becker
Matthew DiIulio
Maria Do
Sam Fernandez

GRADE 7
OUTSTANDING
Lucy Adlfinger

The Outstanding Honor Roll requires more A's than B's with no C's. The Distinguished Honor Roll requires more
B's than A's with no more than one C.

Legislation Boosts Enrollment;
Increases Agricultural Exposure to Urban Communities

CHICAGO - February 6, 2012. As part of his commitment to strengthening education in Illinois, Governor Pat Quinn today visited Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences (CHSAS) to discuss recently adopted legislation that will allow more students in urban areas to pursue opportunities in Illinois' vital agricultural economy.

"One of Illinois' biggest economic engines is our mighty agriculture," Governor Quinn said. "Our urban students and those who live in rural communities should have the educational opportunities to prepare them for jobs in an industry that keeps food on our tables and makes our state more competitive in the global economy."

The Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences is a public magnet school that was opened by the Chicago Public Schools in 1985 with the goal of bringing agricultural education to urban students. The 72-acre campus includes a 40-acre working farm that allows students to get hands-on experience as well as summer internships in agricultural-related fields, which leads to many entering college to pursue agricultural and food science fields. Students are selected for the school via a lottery that chooses 150 students out roughly 1,000 applicants each year for the freshman class.

Senate Bill 1226, sponsored by Sen. Ed Maloney (D-Chicago) and Rep. Bill Cunningham (D-Chicago) changes the enrollment cap for the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences from 600 to 720 students and requires that 50% of enrollment reside within a 2.5 mile radius of the school, which is located on a 72-acre campus on the far South Side.

As highlighted by Governor Quinn in his State of the State Address, Illinois exports rose 30 percent in 2010 and the state is on track to double its exports by 2014. In 2010, Illinois' farm economy had total cash receipts of $15 billion, supporting for tens of thousands of jobs. Agriculture exports alone supported nearly 50,000 jobs in 2010.

###