Joining with key partner Virginia Gay Hospital and Clinics, the Vinton-Shellsburg Community School District submitted a grant application to Future Ready Iowa to construct a new $3M Tiny Vikes Early Learning Center that will be located at Tilford elementary school. One-half of the project will be paid for using funds from the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy with the state’s award of $1.5M funding the rest.

“This isn’t just a building to provide preschool for three and four-year-olds,” said district Superintendent Kyle Koeppen, “this is a facility that will make it possible for us to provide access to before and after school programming for children 5-10 years old that begins at 6:00 AM and continues until 6:00 PM Monday through Friday, and not just in Vinton. We will also provide the same before and after school programming at the Shellsburg attendance center. We believe this is a major advance for parents, for children, and for the wellbeing of our entire school community.”

Koeppen believes the new project again proves how important partnerships between the school and the community partnerships are. “When the school and the community join together, we create opportunities that make our community a more attractive place to live, and we strengthen the learning opportunities provided to children and students.”

The Tiny Vikes Early Childhood Center joins a list of ambitious projects underway for VSCSD that use Federal and PPEL funds to improve facilities. Those projects include a solar energy array at the high school to provide long-term cost savings for electricity and an overhaul of the middle school’s heating, cooling, and ventilation system. The school district also recently negotiated the purchase of the residential property west of the Shellsburg Elementary School.