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Programs

School of the wild

School of the Wild provides a week of outdoor learning adventures for every fifth grade student in the Iowa City Community School District. Nearly 1,100 students participate annually in this summer camp-like experience, where they engage in activities such as tagging and releasing birds, exploring Iowa's woodlands and wetlands, understanding prairie sustainability, and more. Each of the five days at School of the Wild focuses on achieving specific learning goals aligned with the curriculum. The program aims to enhance students' awareness of wildlife and the ecosystem.

Situated at the MacBride Nature Recreation Area, School of the Wild is part of the University of Iowa College of Education's UI WILD initiative. Thanks to the generous support from GreenState Credit Union and private donors, the Foundation for ICCSD covers all program costs for all elementary schools in the District.

students with school of the wild instructor
students building shelter during school of the wild
students in canoe during school of the wild

Any Given Child

Any Given Child is an initiative of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Iowa City is one of 28 communities across the U.S. with this distinction. The goal of the program is to use local resources to provide equitable access to diverse, interactive, and inspiring fine arts experiences for every K-8 student in the district. Our programs are fully funded by the Foundation for ICCSD and would not be possible without the generous support of our community and donors. Please consider supporting Any Given Child through the Foundation.

Students in stop motion animation workshop
Kids smiling at the james theatre

Visiting Author

The Visiting Author program is one of the targeted programs the Foundation for ICCSD supports. In collaboration with Hills Bank's Community Reading Month, two authors are chosen annually to interact with students in the District, sharing insights about their writing and journeys. One author engages with elementary students, while the other connects with secondary students. Discover more about each program below.

visiting author at coralville central

Stacy McAnulty

In November 2023, Stacy McAnulty, a children's author and former mechanical engineer, visited all of our 3rd and 4th grade classrooms thanks to the generous, longtime support of Hills Bank. Stacy engaged our students with her captivating storytelling and ignited their curiosity and enthusiasm for reading, science, writing, and math!

visiting author

Tiffany D. Jackson

Tiffany D. Jackson is the NYT Bestselling, award-winning author of YA novels Monday’s Not ComingAllegedlyLet Me Hear A Rhyme, Grown, White Smoke, Santa in The City, The Weight of Blood, and co-author of Blackout. A Coretta Scott King — John Steptoe New Talent Award-winner and the NAACP Image Award-nominee, she received her bachelor of arts in film from Howard University and has over a decade in TV/Film experience.

Juana Martinez Neal

Juana Martinez-Neal

Juana Martinez-Neal is the recipient of the 2019 Caldecott Honor for Alma and How She Got Her Name (Candlewick Press), her debut picture book as author-illustrator. She is also a New York Times bestselling illustrator recipient of the 2020 Robert F. Sibert Medal for Fry Bread: A Native American Story (Roaring Brook) and the 2018 Pura Belpré Medal for Illustration for La Princesa and the Pea (Putnam).