The Keokuk Community School District continues on a path to improvement that most recently includes three state awarded grants that collectively total nearly $300,000, as well as staffing and program updates and facility enhancements.
The staffing updates and enhancements to academic programs align with the district’s focus on academic success and to continue to increase overall opportunities for students. Among the many recent changes made the District counts the addition of an Agriculture department at the Keokuk High School with a new FFA chapter that boasts more than 100 student members, expansion of reading intervention and addition of a math interventionist at the Keokuk Middle School, full-time automotive and industrial technology instructors with expansion to both programs, as well as the welding program, all housed within the ever evolving Career & Technical Education (CTE) program at KHS. Further there is now a dedicated elementary science teacher and a work-based learning coordinator at KHS.
The district is also proud of multiple facility improvements, most recently the KHS gym floor has been refinished with updated branding in Wright Fieldhouse, as well as the large phase I renovation project that saw a new track with field events and a fully renovated turf football field with advanced lighting, plus the updated tennis courts. As well as updated landscaping throughout the district and more.
The most recent achievement on the district’s improvement path highlights the notice of award for three state grants, specifically the Iowa Early Childhood Continuum of Care Grant for early childhood programming, as well as the Credentials to Careers Grant to enhance the CTE program and the Therapeutic Classroom Grant, both will benefit the Keokuk High School.
KHS was one of 15 high schools in Iowa awarded the Credentials to Careers grant, where funds can be used to support students in obtaining Industry-recognized credentials through the Career & Technical Education (CTE) programs. The CTE programs at KHS include Agriculture, Automotive, Building Trades, Business, Computer Science, Family & Consumer Science, Health Occupations and Welding.
“This grant will open even more doors for our students and allow us to expand access to industry-recognized credentials, giving our graduates a competitive edge,” Nathan Harrison, Keokuk High School principal, said. “This is truly an investment in the future of our students and we are grateful for this support.”
The grant provided the explanation that “industry-recognized credentials are certifications, credentials or licenses vetted by employers and endorsed by a nationally recognized trade association or organization in a particular industry.” Furthermore, the credentials are “valuable tools for individuals in the workforce, which verifies skill mastery and educational attainment.”
“… The grant helps connect the classroom to the workplace,” McKenzie Snow, Iowa Department of Education Director, said. “Students earning portable, stackable credentials will be ready to succeed in in-demand, high-wage and public-good careers across our state. … Iowa is ensuring all students are empowered with multiple pathways to postsecondary success.”
The Iowa Department of Education website stated that Districts were awarded the grant after each demonstrated a clear, sustainable plan to align one or more existing CTE pathways with student attainment of industry-recognized credentials. The award amount for each district was up to $50,000 and was determined by the costs outlined in each applicant’s budget proposal, according to the Iowa Department of Education. The grant can cover student exam fees, instructional equipment, non-consumable instructional supplies, computer equipment and software, wired and wireless internet connections, installation costs, instructor training related to new equipment purchases, instructor training expenses required to offer the credential and curriculum enhancements, per the Iowa Department of Education.
Recently, KCSD was also awarded the Iowa Early Childhood Continuum of Care Grant for $100,000 in the first round of intent to award selections. The state of Iowa had announced a commitment to address gaps in access to full day childcare for families and requested proposals from school districts to apply for the grant that would support partnerships between Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program (SWVPP), such as Torrence Preschool, and licensed child care centers, in this case the Keokuk Community Child Development Center, to offer “seamless, full-day care for 4-year-olds,” according to the press release.
The grant is intended to help support students and families to be more prepared for starting school in kindergarten.
“Iowa’s working parents need more flexibility to provide their children with full-day care plus early learning, which has been a gap in our system for too long. The Continuum of Care grant program provides a strategic solution by incentivizing child care providers and preschool programs to work together to better serve Iowa families,” Governor Kim Reynolds said per the press release from the Iowa Department of Education. “There’s a clear need for this program — as evidenced by the overwhelming number of applicants …”
Additionally, earlier this summer, KHS was one of eight Iowa school districts awarded the 2025-26 Therapeutic Classroom Grant in the amount of $144,000 according to the Iowa Department of Education.
“KHS is honored to be awarded the grant,” Jennifer Roederer, KHS associate principal, said. “This funding will help us create a dedicated space at KHS with the resources and trained staff necessary to help those students thrive. It reflects our district’s commitment to meeting students where they are and ensuring every learner has the opportunity to succeed.”
At KHS, the grant will fund the creation of a sensory-sensitive therapeutic classroom, staff training in trauma-informed practices, SEL tools for general classrooms, and expanded mental health support for students and families, Roederer added. The grant was established to provide funding to public schools to establish therapeutic classrooms for learners ages three to 21 whose emotional, social or behavioral needs interfere with their ability to be successful in their current educational environment.
“The grant process was highly competitive and we applaud your district’s commitment to expand the continuum of Social-Emotional-Behavioral Health (SEBH) supports for learners,” pulled from the award email from the Division of PK-12 Learning at the Iowa Department of Education. “Your pioneering efforts will serve as a model to inform efforts to better respond to the SEBH needs of learners statewide.”
The email additionally stated that the grant funds will be used to establish new therapeutic classrooms and/or install critical components into current classrooms and/or programs. The Therapeutic Classroom Grant provides competitive grants pursuant to Iowa Code 256.25 and Iowa Administrative Code 281 – 14.13.
“Therapeutic classrooms across Iowa provide vibrant, safe and healthy learning environments that best support students’ individual cognitive and behavioral needs,” McKenzie Snow, Iowa Department of Education director, said in a release. “We commend this year’s awardees and their community partners for their leadership and commitment to modeling best practices in skill building, stress and trauma coping, mental health treatment, and crisis prevention and intervention.”
KHS will work with the Iowa Department of Education per this initiative to “support the needs of students in Iowa.” The Iowa Department of Education released that the grants will be distributed this fall for implementation during the 2025-26 school year.
More information on the grant can be found here, https://educate.iowa.gov/
