Bondurant-Farrar Receives STEM BEST Program Award
As part of the Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council initiative to bring teachers and industry professionals together to help prepare students for STEM careers, Bondurant-Farrar was selected to be a 2019 STEM BEST (Businesses Engaging Students and Teachers) Program Partner. BFCSD and twelve other new or expanded partnerships were selected to receive up to $25,000 each.

The STEM Best Program supports school-business partnerships that allow teachers and industry professionals to work side-by-side on curriculum projects that give students actual workplace experience and an understanding of the opportunities and required skills for careers in STEM fields. STEM BEST has also laid the groundwork for other successful statewide initiatives such as Future Ready Iowa’s Work-Based Learning Clearinghouse.  

At BFCSD, the STEM BEST Program will take a multi pronged approach to engaging students and teachers with businesses in the area. At the elementary level, BFCSD students will learn about careers that tie to the content they are learning about. At the middle school and high school, BFCSD students will be taking time to learn about careers through targeted activities such as career fairs and mock interviews. Additionally, the Bondurant-Farrar High School be adding a class that works to solve problems in the community, at businesses, and for non-profits.
“This program is meant to bridge the gap between businesses and education,” said Donovan Hill, District STEM Coordinator at BFCSD. “The school district is excited to work with local businesses in order to continue to provide the best education for our students.” 
Recent and Upcoming District Projects
MIDDLE SCHOOL RENOVATION:
This spring, a renovation will begin that will improve function and increase building capacity at the middle school.
ENERGY EFFICIENCY:
The second phase of the Anderson lighting upgrade is now complete with the first phase being finished last winter. 95% of all interior fixtures have been updated with LED products, which should save the district over 60% on energy costs for lighting at Anderson. 
DISTRICT OFFICE UPDATE:
The district office will also receive an update this summer. As the district continues to grow, these changes will help us better serve our staff and community. 
Long-Term Master Facilities Planning Update
PROPOSED NEW BUILDING:
The district proposes to construct a new building to serve grades 7-8. The building would be located on district property north of the high school. The initial student capacity will be in the 550-600 range which is estimated to be large enough through the fall of 2028, and may be physically connected to the current high school or close in proximity to allow students to accelerate academically. This will also allow the buildings to minimize costs through sharing staff and services.

This would mean that the current middle school (grades 6th-8th) would move to serve grades 5th and 6th. Anderson Elementary would also shift from serving three grades (3rd-5th) to only 3rd and 4th grade once the new building opens. 

Based on enrollment projections, the additional space provided by the new building along with grade reconfiguration should serve the district’s needs at a minimum until the fall of 2028 assuming the anticipated growth trend remains on target. The district monitors enrollment data monthly and updates projections roughly every five years.
BOND ELECTION:
The district would first have to pass a bond election. This means 60% or more of voters would authorize the district to issue up to $16 million in General Obligation Bonds. The election will be held on Tuesday, September 8, 2020.

In the coming months the district will continue to share related information, seek community feedback, and host public meetings regarding the bond election. If your civic organization would like to host district representatives for a presentation, please contact our district office at (515) 967-7819. In the meantime, please direct questions to Superintendent Powers at powersr@bfschools.org .
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Staff Members Honored in Local East Polk County Awards
In the December edition of the Bondurant Living Magazine, three Bondurant-Farrar staff members were honored in the East Polk County Resident's Choice Awards. 

Big Green Umbrella Media, which publishes CITYVIEW and Living Magazine, oversees the poll and sought input from residents within various regions of the metro to identify readers' favorite places, organizations, and business people in their respective regions. The region of East Polk County consists of residents within Altoona, Bondurant, Mitchellville, and Pleasant Hill. 

Residents identified Ben Anderson of Morris Elementary as their favorite principal of East Polk County. There was a seven-way tie for the favorite teacher of East Polk County, which included Lynn Sandoval, high school English and speech teacher, and Annalise Kitchen, middle school math teacher. Please join us in congratulating Mr. Anderson, Ms. Sandoval, and Ms. Kitchen on these local honors!   
Preschool Program Moves To Morris Elementary
Morris Elementary is now home to the Bluejay Beginnings Preschool program! Preschool was previously housed at Anderson Elementary, but transitioned to Morris Elementary this school year due to the opening of the additional academic wing. There are many benefits of having preschool at the K-2 building. The benefits of transitioning the preschool program to Morris include the early childhood friendly environment, school wide age appropriate celebrations, collaboration between preschool teachers and kindergarten teachers, as well as the transition for preschool students going into kindergarten.  

Students have settled into their classroom routines and are now acquainted with the new preschool wing. Earlier this school year, students participated in an author study on Eric Carle which led into many wonderful literacy, math, social studies, art, and science activities. Overall, teachers, students, and staff are all enjoying the new space.
Three New Agriculture Courses Offered At The High School
The district is excited to offer three new agriculture courses this school year at the high school, along with the offering of Introduction to Agriculture from last year.  
 
Introduction to Agriculture is structured to enable all students to experience an overview of the fields of agricultural science and natural resources by utilizing hands-on activities, projects, and problems. Student experiences involve the study of communication, the science of agriculture, plants, animals, natural resources, and agricultural mechanics. Last year, 35 students enrolled in the course, and this year 40 students are enrolled between the two sections.

To build upon the foundation established in Introduction to Agriculture, three additional courses are now available to students, which include Animal Science, Environmental Science Issues, and Natural Resources and Ecology.

School board members are locally elected, public officials entrusted with the task of providing direction for the education of students. The Bondurant-Farrar Board of Education is a five-member board that represents the citizens of our community in overseeing the district.

Terms of these elected officials are four years, and overlap to ensure continuity of board leadership. In the fall of 2019, three seats were up for election. Voters of the district re-elected Chris Freese and Sue Ugulini to continue service on the district's school board, and are joined by newcomer Stacia Sanny.

The district's Board of Directors typically meet twice per month, on the second and fourth Mondays at 5:00pm in the library of the middle school. Regularly scheduled board meetings are open to the public, and electronic agendas are available at least 24 hours in advance.


It is the policy of the Bondurant-Farrar Community School District not to discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, religion, creed, age (for employment), marital status (for programs), sexual orientation, gender identity and socioeconomic status (for programs) in its educational programs and its employment practices. There is a grievance procedure for processing complaints of discrimination. If you have questions or a grievance related to this policy please contact the district’s Equity Coordinator; Chad Carlson, Director of Administrative Services, 300 Garfield St SW, Bondurant, IA 50035, 515-967-7819, carlsonc@bfschools.org .; or Director of the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, Citigroup Center, 500 W. Madison Street, Suite 1475, Chicago, IL 60661-7204, (312) 730-1560, OCR.Chicago@ed.gov.

Questions, comments or concerns?
Please email Jessica Hartgers of the
Bondurant-Farrar District Office.