Lake Leadership took to the classroom on November 18th for Education Day. Here’s what they learned:

Principal Kwikkel

Middle School Principal Steve Kwikkel looks on as the Lake Leadership class learns about the Clear Lake Community School District.

The Lake Leadership class started their day with the Clear Lake Community School District, meeting the school principals Mike Barkley (Clear Creek grades K-5), Steve Kwikkel (Clear Lake Middle School grades 6-8), Chris Murphy (Clear Lake High School grades 9-12), and CLCSD curriculum director Tracey Thomsen.

The Lake Leadership group found this session very informational and interesting, especially  how learning and school culture & dynamics have shifted over the past decade, as well as society’s changing family styles impact on kids.

Airplane Wing Murphy

Principal Murphy shows the prototype airplane wing that CLHS students made in Mr. Lester’s class.

Other points of interest were the STEM program (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics) as well as other self-teaching types of programs that are available to let students creativity and collaborative skills shine.

School tour

Principal Murphy took the class on a tour of the High School.

They also talked about how the business community can be better partners with the schools and learned what challenges the schools face.  There was an excellent  discussion on whether to attend a 4-year college or not following high school graduation.

Takeaway: The school administration is very interesting & caring, and they play a lot of roles.

VanSelfie

A “Van Selfie” as the class traveled from Clear Lake to NIACC.

After the tour, the group boarded the bus and headed to North Iowa Area Community College for lunch and a presentation by Dr. Steve Schulz, NIACC President.

Schultze NIACC2

NIACC President Dr. Steven Schulz welcomes the class to their campus and spoke of their capital campaign.

According to the follow up surveys, the Lake Leadership class is excited about the direction that NIACC is headed. They also felt that the NIACC campus is a great asset to our community and its students. With such a push toward advanced 2 year degrees and the shortage of those people in the workforce they see great things for NIACC going forward.  The group also was pleased to meet the president of NIACC, and found him very nice and wanting everyone to succeeed.

The Lake Leadership class then moved on to the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center with a presentation from Dan Winegarden, Director for the North Iowa Business Incubator.

Winegarden JPEC

Dan Winegarden gives the class an overview of the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center (and the Civil War).

Dan explained the Pappajohn Center’s purpose as well as the background of founder John Pappajohn.   The class found his presentation encouraging, inspirational and full of relevant historical content.  Overall the class felt that it was a fantastic speech about business.

After JPEC, the Lake Leadership learned about the NIACC Performing Arts Center with Liz Gales.

The Lake Leadership class was truly impressed, and learned exactly how much goes on behind the scenes. Many in the group didn’t know about the level of performing arts entertainment available as well as special programs for student groups and called it “an entertainment gem in our own backyard.”

The Lake Leadership class then moved on for a tour of the NIACC Industrial Arts Center with instructor (and State Representative) Josh Byrnes.

Josh Talking NiACC Trades

Josh Byrnes gives the class a tour of NIACC’s Industrial Arts Center.

What was deemed the “highlight of the day,” the class felt that the opportunities that NIACC has made available in their Advanced Manufacturing , Automotive, Construction, and Healthcare programs is first-rate.  They thought it was great to see all of the technology available at NIACC and felt that Josh’s touring skills were very in-depth and upbeat and noted that he takes pride in his specialty area.  The Lake Leadership class ended the day with a tour of the new student dormitory apartments, which they found to be much improved for students with a clean, modern look.  They felt that the new dorms signify the efforts NIACC has put forth to attract students.  The class just wished they had more time to tour the cafeteria, study rooms, and rec center!

Here is some more feedback from our Lake Leadership 2015-2016 class:

“I have to say I was a bit skeptical about what value this program would actually have. After the first two courses, I cannot wait for the third . I’ve learned so much already about the community as well as sparked different ideas about how to approach my own customers.”

“[Education Day] definitely made me reevaluate my position as a parent in encouraging career paths for my children or anyone else’s for that matter.”

“Very informative day.”

“The whole day was great! Very good info and great tours.”

“Principal discussion was great.”

“Learned lots about our school system! We have a real need for a lot of what NIACC offers for classes! From nursing to anything with Automotive.”

About Lake Leadership
The Clear Lake Area Chamber of Commerce’s Lake Leadership program is a series of nine monthly sessions designed to educate civic minded individuals about Clear Lake.
It provides a behind-the-scenes opportunity to learn more about your community.
For more information contact Tim Coffey, CEO.