Supporting Activities

Volunteer Program

The volunteer program recruits, trains, and places ISU students in King and Moulton classrooms. Volunteers help classroom teachers by reading with students, helping them with assignments, and talking about college. The goal of the program is to provide role models for college-going and promote a scholar identity at a young age.

ISU College Partnerships

In an effort to teach King and Moulton students more about the breadth of careers available to them at ISU, grade levels at each school have been paired with an undergraduate college at ISU. Our goal is to connect resources from each college, such as fun, career exploration activities, with its partnered grade level. The pairings are:

College Night

ISU College Night is an annual event to connect students (from King and Moulton) and their families to a broad spectrum of academic units, clubs, and organizations from Iowa State University and the Community Alliance through age-appropriate hands-on activities while visiting the Blank Park Zoo.

Middle and High School Outreach

ISU /DMPS Communication Hub

All 6th-12th grade DMPS students who are eligible for and officially enrolled in the program are connected to a communication hub through Microsoft Teams. This Team offers a space to share information about upcoming ISU opportunities, as well as a way for students to communicate directly with the ISU office. 

11th-12th Grade Outreach

Beginning in 11th grade and continuing through 12th, the ISU Offices of Admissions and Student Financial Aid, in collaboration with the ISU office, will be reaching out to King and Moulton students with information about the admissions process, financial aid, and filling out the FAFSA.

King and Moulton Teacher Liaison Teams

Teachers at King and Moulton provide vital input and feedback about the initiative. Through regular meetings with the ISU program coordinator, these teachers take the lead on promoting college-going in a variety of ways throughout their schools.

Community Alliance

The Community Alliance provides a structure for Iowa State Extension and Outreach, community organizations, agencies, and businesses to participate in the college-going programming. Given that the long-term objective of the programming is to maintain a college-going pathway for youth attending King and Moulton elementary schools, the Community Alliance aims to align with support systems for in- and out-of-school education. We believe the community organizations that service the youth and families of these two schools are in integral aspect of the success of college going.

Practica Supports

Each semester, pre-service teachers in ISU’s School of Education have the opportunity to be considered for a practicum placement in classrooms at King or Moulton Elementary. ISU students placed in these schools are given additional supports including: an introductory orientation before setting foot in the classroom; a practice-based video series; weekly mentoring and reflection discussions with a Place- and Practice-Based coach in each school; feedback sessions with cooperating teachers; & an on-campus debrief with the PPB coaches and principals at the end of the semester.