Events

The Dubuque Community School District will host two upcoming community information sessions for those interested in learning more about the district’s facility planning work.

The sessions will be held on Wednesday, April 16, and Monday, April 28, at 6 p.m. at the district offices, 2300 Chaney Road.

The meeting will feature a recap the district’s facility planning work, led by INVISION Architecture and informed by a community facility planning taskforce. The session will recap the taskforce’s work to review previous and new facility efficiency scenarios, look at results of a community survey regarding facility planning, and discuss potential funding mechanisms to support any future projects.

In particular, the planning team has reviewed and updated options for middle school consolidation to move the district from three to two middle schools. This consolidation was previously and continues to be identified as the option creating the greatest financial efficiencies while ensuring equivalent middle school facilities for all students.

As part of its homecoming festivities, Dubuque Senior High School will host a community open house on Saturday, Oct. 5, from 10 a.m. to noon to showcase the school’s recently completed renovation.

The district recently completed a $34 million second-phase renovation of Dubuque Senior, which included a newly renovated Lamb-Hedeman Auditorium and Nora Gymnasium, as well as new performance physical education space, a wrestling room, a restructured music wing and classroom updates.

This most recent renovation also added two additional elevators to the school and completed full climate control of the building so all spaces are now air conditioned. The project, which was completed on time and on budget, was funded through the district’s portion of the statewide SAVE (Secure an Advanced Vision for Education) sales tax fund.

The first phase of renovations at the school, which were completed in 2018, included a new secure entrance and office area, commons areas, a new cafeteria and library, and an additional gym. Together, the two phases fully renovated the school updates designed as a 50-plus year solution to ensuring up-to-date high school facilities for decades to come.

We are pleased to live stream the 2024 graduation ceremonies on Saturday, May 25.

Dubuque Senior High School: 3 p.m.

Hempstead High School:

Dear Parents/Guardians of the Class of 2021,

In just a few short months, your student in the Class of 2021 will walk across the stage to receive their Dubuque Community School District diploma – proudly becoming a graduate of Dubuque Senior High School or Hempstead High School.

While we continue to move closer to normal, we will again make adjustments to this year’s graduation ceremony to ensure that we are providing a safe environment for our students and their families.

• The most significant change is that the ceremony will be held outdoors at Dalzell Field in order to provide additional capacity while also allowing for appropriate physical distancing.
• As scheduled, graduation will be held on Saturday, May 29, and we will use Sunday, May 30, as a rain date should weather present an issue on Saturday.
• Dubuque Senior High School’s ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. and Hempstead High School’s ceremony will be held at 3 p.m.
• Based on the capacity of Dalzell Field, each graduate may receive up to eight (8) tickets. WATCH YOUR EMAIL IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS FOR TICKET RESERVATION DETAILS.
• We will again livestream the graduation ceremonies for family and friends who are unable to attend the ceremony in person.

Additional details about logistics, safety protocols and ticketing will be shared as our graduation planning continues.

We are excited to be able to hold an in-person celebration of the Class of 2021. Best wishes as your student completes the remainder of their senior year!

Sincerely,
Stan Rheingans
Superintendent of Schools