Story County Reads

Research has shown the enormous impact that positive parenting practices can have on a child’s social, emotional, and intellectual development, particularly during the early years. Story County Reads partners help parents develop the toolbox of skills they need to set their children up for success!

Among the available Story County parenting education programs are:

• County libraries – Parenting circles, baby and toddler storytimes, and beyond. See local event calendars below.
  • Ames Public Library
  • Colo Public Library
  • Nevada Public Library
  • Follow the links at the bottom of this page for other library websites
• Iowa State University Extension and Outreach
• LSI’s Parents-as-Teachers, The Nest, and other early childhood support programs
• Mid-Iowa Community Action Early Head Start
• Raising Readers’ Playful Pages Family Workshops
• Raising Readers’ Small Talk program
• Raising Readers’ Story Pals reading program

Story County also has a wealth of resources, from museums to libraries to parks and playgrounds. All serve to enrich children’s lives.

The more prepared children are both academically and emotionally for kindergarten, the more successful learners they will become. The first few years are critical to help young children navigate and transition to a variety of settings and situations, while developing their emotional skills.

There are many programs and resources in Story County to support children to prepare for kindergarten. These include the following:

High-quality, accredited early childhood education center – The following providers also offer scholarship and/or sliding fee scale support to ensure childcare is affordable and accessible:

• Ames Community Preschool Center (ACPC)
• ChildServe in Ames
• Story Time Childcare in Maxwell
• University Community Childcare in Ames

Preschool-only programs for income-eligible families:

• Drake University Head Start (Ames)
• Mid-Iowa Community Action Head Start (in Nevada)

Collectively, we work to support learning both in and out of the classroom. Our partners fund and host Iowa Reading Corps members (evidence-based reading supports in local elementary schools), provide school-based mentoring, and offer a range of enrichment opportunities before and after school and on non-school days.

To learn more about locally available in-school supports, please visit:

• Iowa Reading Corps 
• YSS Mentoring Program
• YWCA “Girls Power” and “College Bound” Mentoring programs

To learn more about locally-available out-of-school programs and supports, please visit:

• Ames Public Library and other county libraries offering tutoring programs, reading challenges, book clubs, other enrichment activities for children and teens, and more. See links to local library's event pages at the bottom of this page.
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Story County (in Ames and Nevada)
• Camp Fire Heart of Iowa
• Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa
• Raising Readers’ Reading Buddies program (for K-3)
• The Community Academy
• YSS

To learn more about the importance of grade-level reading, find additional resources, and beyond, visit the Campaign for Grade Level Reading at https://gradelevelreading.net/

Our partners offer programming throughout the summer, recognizing that this helps stem the loss of school-year learning. These programs includes nature-based and STEM-focused camps, camps for children with autism, literacy-focused camps, and beyond, plus a host of enrichment activities. Find a complete list on our website.

Click here to view 2024 summer camp opportunities in Story County.  Check back soon for 2025 Summer! If you know of camps that should be added to our list, please email smansell@uwstory.org.

We recognize that good health and the ability to learn go hand-in-hand. Our partners work to address food insecurity through community-supported initiatives such as free summer
meals for children and food pantries. We also work to ensure that learners with disabilities and other special healthcare or learning needs are included in educational opportunities.

Services for Individuals with Disabilities:

To learn more about ways to include children with disabilities, we recommend the following resources:

• All Aboard for Kids - local nonprofit serving children and youth with autism.
• ASK Resource Center - State of Iowa's Parent Training and Information Center for families of children with disabilities. 
• Child Mind Institute - Dedicated to transforming the lives of children and families struggling with mental health and learning disorders by giving them the help they need to thrive.
• ChildServe – Meets the unique needs of children with developmental delays, disabilities, injuries and other special healthcare needs.

Food Programs for Infants and Children:

• BackPack Program – Bags of weekend food. Available in Ballard, Collins, Colo, Nevada, RS elementary schools. Contact your child’s teacher or the school counselor to sign up.
• Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) – A program for in-home childcare providers to receive meal reimbursements in Story County and beyond. Contact Kris at MICA, cacfp@micaonline.org or 641-328-3261.
• Iowa Food Assistance/SNAP -You can apply online, by paper, or over the phone. Learn more at their website OR call 1-855-944-3663, Monday thru Friday, 8 am – 5 pm.
• Women-Infants-Children Program (WIC) – This program provides supplementary food and nutrition education for women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, up to 6-month post-partum and infants & children up to age 5. Visit with MICA in Ames at 515-232-9020 or 1-800-890-8230.

To see a complete list of food support programs for children, please visit United Way’s Story County Hunger Collaboration page

If attendance is irregular, it is hard to benefit from educational opportunities. We work with a host of community partners to identify and reduce barriers to attendance like transportation, limited English proficiency, special needs, and more.

The following websites share valuable resources:

• Attendance Works - Find handouts, videos, data and more on positive engagement, actionable data, and building capacity.

Story County College Access Network (SCCAN), funded by the Bureau of Iowa College Aid, Department of Education, has been working since 2019 to ensure that underserved learners have access to information about post-secondary options and resources. We see education as a pathway to financial security, well-being, civic engagement, and beyond.

About Story County College Access Network (SCCAN):

Who We Are

SCCAN is a multi-sector collaborative, convened by United Way of Story County and funded largely by Iowa College Aid. Partners include educational institutions (7 local school districts, DMACC, ISU), local government, non-profits, and businesses.

Our Goal

To help prepare Story County students for a wide range of educational opportunities after high school:* Certificate *Apprenticeship* 2-year degree* 4-year degree* Other

Our Focus

Assisting students from families with low incomes, students who identify as Black or Latinx/Hispanic, or other "underserved" individuals.

Approach

Our team utilizes the collective impact framework to drive our common agenda of post-secondary options and access for all. “Collective impact is a structured, multi-sector approach to changing systems for improved population-level outcomes. Unlike other approaches to collaboration, collective impact is defined by long-term alignment around a common agenda that seeks to address root causes of a systemic problem.” (fsg.org)

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Previous Contractors

For the first 4 years of the Local College Access Network (LCAN) grant, we were fortunate to contract with two individuals passionate about our agenda. Dr. Lee Chhen Stewart served as contracted lead on this project from 2019-2021, while Jamet Colton served in this role from 2021-2023. We are grateful to Lee and Jamet for their hard work.

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Today

We are now in the “Sustaining” years of the LCAN grant and have transitioned into a collaboratively-led project. Current SCCAN Team members (see below) are working together to meet our goals. We also have recently joined forces with the long-standing educational collaboration Story County Reads. Together, we are able to impact learners from cradle to career. Learn more about Story County Reads at our Facebook page.

Members of the SCCAN leadership and action team include:

• Ethan Atwell, Ames Public Library
• Latifah Faisal, Story County Board of Supervisors
• Awein Majak, community leader
• Monica Martinez, community leader, Fortress Insurance
• Anneke Mundel, United Way of Story County (current coordinator)
• Andrea Palomo, YSS
• Mandy Rangel, YSS
• Missy Sanow, ACPC
• Shaeley Santiago, Ames Community School District
• Staci Shugar, Center for Creative Justice
• Shannon Thiele, Ames Regional Economic Alliance
• Jennifer Wiederin, Danfoss
• Mary Wilkins, ISU Extension & Outreach

Bureau of Iowa College Aid Consultant: Megan Sibbel

For significant contributions to SCCAN, we thank many individuals who previously served on our Leadership or Action Teams including: Malai Amfahr, Jerri Baumeister, Tracy Brown, Nikki Fischer, Dr. Steve Gray, Dr. Anthony Jones, Roberta Johnson, Vonda Junck, Jeff J. Kelly, Dr. Sandra King, nicci port, Dr. Reg Stewart, Katrina Williams, Liz Zuercher

For collaborating with SCCAN on various events, we thank: Ames High School Business and Enterprise Club, Availa Bank, Burke, Children & Families of Iowa, IowaWORKS, ICAN, and our team members' organizations.

https://www.storycountycan.org/meet-our-team

Select Accomplishments 2019-2024: 

• Data Analysis and Sharing 
• FAFSA Completion Events – held throughout Story County, including at Ames HS, Roland-Story HS.
• #GetAJob – founding partner with Ames Alliance and YSS for this summer youth job fair
• Resources provided to families, schools, and educational non-profits – provided tablets, books, college readiness materials, gas cards and bus tickets (to reduce transportation barriers), and lots more!
• Salir Adelante: Pathways for Our Future – helped bring 6-week ISU Extension & Outreach workshop series for Latinx middle school students and their families to Ames! [link: https://www.extension.iastate.edu/humansciences/salir-adelante ]
• South Sudanese & Sudanese Post-Secondary Exploration – launch of curriculum development project
• Tabled at high-school college/career fairs and other community events

Post-Secondary Resources:

TOP Recommended Resources:

• Ames Regional Economic Alliance  – includes information on Story County Retraining Program (DMACC with Ames Alliance and Story County), K-12 programs, Innovate U, and more
• DMACC High-School Equivalency Program
• Federal Student Aid (U.S. Department of Education)  - It is FREE to apply for federal student aid; be careful and avoid websites or services that charge a fee.
• Iowa College Access Network -nonprofit that provides free support in career and college planning, including help with filing your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), setting a college budget, and more
• Iowa Department of Education Resources – includes lots of resources for college and career preparation and information on Iowa Career Pathways
• Latinos College Access Network for Iowa – information in English and Spanish
• Story County – ISU Extension & Outreach Youth programs
• YSS Youth Employment Program
• YWCA College Bound Program at Ames High School

Other Resources: https://www.storycountycan.org/resources

Frequently Asked Questions:

https://www.storycountycan.org/faq