Davenport, Iowa -The Davenport Community School District has announced that the Four-Year-Old Program community partner organizations will host an information session and tour from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. Friday, January 21, 2011 at Children's Village West, 2826 West Locust Street, Davenport (across from the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds). Legislators, community partners, Quad Cities Chamber of Commerce representatives, and members of the media are being invited to attend.

The session will begin with an overview of Iowa's statewide voluntary preschool program for four-year-old children which will include local, state and national data showing the impact of quality preschool education. Several brief presentations by community partner organizations will follow, concluding with a tour of the facilities and an opportunity to observe the program first-hand.

The Four-Year-Old Program provides more opportunities for all children aged four in the State of Iowa to attend a quality preschool and enter kindergarten ready to learn. The program in the Davenport Area Community School District alone impacts more than 800 students and includes over 20 partner sites.

A recent analysis of over 120 studies of students in preschool programs from over the last five decades showed these students made gains in both cognitive and social-emotional skills that persisted well beyond the early elementary years. "The Perry Preschool Project" clearly lays out the long term economic impact of these programs beyond school.

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WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley today announced that Tyler John Husar of Muscatine has been selected to attend the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.  Husar is a student at Muscatine High School, and is the son of Cindy L. Husar.

"The U.S. service academies offer students an excellent education and an opportunity to serve their country at the highest level.  I'm proud that another young Iowan is meeting the challenge at one of these great institutions," Grassley said.  "The Naval Academy accepts only the best and brightest, and Tyler will represent Iowa well on campus."

Each year, Grassley nominates young Iowans for the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, NY, the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO, the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in King's Point, NY.  Information on the application process is available on Grassley's website at http://grassley.senate.gov/info/academy_nominations.cfm.  Applications for the 2012 school year are due on October 1, 2011.

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DES MOINES, IA (01/13/2011)(readMedia)-- State Treasurer Michael L. Fitzgerald wants every second and third grade teacher in the state to take advantage of the free pencils being offered through Prepare for the Basics. This no-cost program, which provides pencils for students to use during the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, supplied almost 13,500 students with pencils during the 2008-09 school year. "Any teacher interested in participating in the program has until April 1st to submit their requests," stated Fitzgerald. "I really hope all teachers take advantage of this program. It is a small gesture of appreciation for all that they do."

The Prepare for the Basics program also provides information to families about College Savings Iowa, the state's 529 plan that is designed to give them an affordable way to save money for college. "Families who begin saving early are better prepared to meet the educational needs of their children. Any little bit that can be saved now will offset what has to be borrowed in the future," stated Fitzgerald.

College Savings Iowa lets anyone - parents, grandparents, friends and relatives - invest for college on behalf of a child. Iowa taxpayers can deduct up to $2,865 in contributions per beneficiary account from their adjusted gross income in 2011.* Investors do not need to be a state resident and can withdraw their investment tax-free to pay for qualified higher education expenses including tuition, books, supplies and room and board at any eligible college, university, community college or accredited technical training school in the United States or abroad.** For more information about College Savings Iowa, go to www.collegesavingsiowa.com or call 1-888-672-9116.

Teachers who would like to take part in the Prepare for the Basics program can register online by visiting www.treasurer.state.ia.us and clicking on the financial literacy tab. Materials should be requested at least two weeks prior to testing to ensure timely arrival and will be delivered directly to the participating schools. Supplies are limited, so early registration is advised.

*Adjusted annually for inflation. If withdrawals are not qualified, the deductions must be added back to Iowa taxable income.

** Earnings on non-qualified withdrawals may be subject to federal income tax and a 10% federal penalty tax on the earnings, as well as state income taxes. The availability of tax or other benefits may be contingent on meeting other requirements.

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As cabin fever begins to reach its height, area residents have a unique tool in their arsenal to ward off those mid-winter blahs.

For a mere $25, people can break out of their homes and spend Sunday afternoons in February learning about Celtic Spirituality, A History of Angels, The Modern Civil Rights Movement, Increasing Your Intuition, Conversational Italian, Spanish and French, Tai Chi, Georgia O'Keefe, Egyptology, Psychology of Film or one of  31 other topics at this year's CommUniversity.

CommUniversity is a non-profit project, presented by a volunteer committee of representatives from various local educational and community groups. The public event has been held every February for 31 years with more than 600 people attending last year. Classes last four weeks, held from 2 - 4 p.m. every Sunday in February.

Classes are held at St. Ambrose University and will be kicked off February 6 with a keynote presentation at 1 p.m. in the university's Galvin Fine Arts Center.

This year's keynote speaker is Stephen Bloom, professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Iowa and author of Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America and The Oxford Project which won the prestigious 2009 Alex Award from the American Library Association.

Bloom's presentation will be on storytelling and why it is still important to us today, even though the platforms used to bring news to people may be changing.

Following the keynote, students will move to their chosen classes.

Classes are informal, taught by experts in their field and, best of all, there are no tests. Other classes this year include : Exploring the Book of Genesis, Irish Poetry, Beginning Photography, Yoga, Tennessee Williams and Songwriting.

Participants can sign up as an individual and use the opportunity to meet others who share an interest or, in many cases, groups of friends or entire families enroll together. Either way, anyone wanting to fight off the winter chill has 42 different classes from which to choose.

People are invited to attend Bloom's keynote address free of charge. Class registration is accepted at the door on February 6, however everyone is encouraged to register in advance. This helps to insure that there is room in the class for them, as well as makes sure the class isn't cancelled due to low enrollment.

A full listing of all the available classes and registration information is available online at www.communiversity.org

CommUniversity is made possible in part through grants from Humanities Iowa, (state-based affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities) and the Scott County Regional Authority.