Headlines

DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Education today announced a request for proposals to select new statewide assessments of student progress in English language arts, mathematics and science starting in the 2018-19 school year.  The Department is seeking bids for new assessments, as well as a vendor to provi…

Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise today announced that the second draft of Iowa’s state plan for meeting the federal Every Student Succeeds Act is available for public review and comment.   “This draft plan ties together and builds on Iowa’s collaborative education reform efforts under way t…

BOONE – Caroline Owen first started teaching when Franklin D. Roosevelt first took office. Yes, that was 1932. And yes, Mrs. Owen is doing fine, thank you very much. The 103-year-old personifies the passionate educator, even though it's been nearly 40 years since her retirement. “It is so important to be pati…

Children and families enjoy the sprayground before receiving lunch through the West Des Moines Community School District Summer Food Service Program at Legion Park. “If you build it, they will come,” a quote many may recognize from the movie Field of Dreams. Set in rural Iowa, the film explores a farmer’s…

I have a spectacular view from my office in Des Moines; I overlook Iowa’s State Capitol and the World War II Memorial Plaza. This, however, isn’t my only view of the state. As I near the end of my second year as director of the Iowa Department of Education, I have now visited 100 of Iowa’s more than 300 public sc…

Members will convene May 31 in Des Moines DES MOINES – Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise today announced a new advisory group to address critical issues in expanding computer science opportunities for students statewide. The Computer Science Education Work Group was established as part of Senate F…

Scott Slechta In the last year, Scott Slechta has traveled river to river in Iowa, and coast to coast in the country. But far beyond the accumulated mileage on the 2016 Teacher of the Year, Slechta is ending his tenure a changed educator. “I was in a true comfort zone with my students as I taught them rhet…

Valley High School seniors (F-B) Evan McKinney, Blake Richards, and Madison Stoakes, are three of six Valley seniors who have earned their associate degrees before graduating from high school. WEST DES MOINES – Six high school seniors from Valley High School will already have college degrees in hand when they…

State-supported sector partnerships are helping Iowa communities tackle critical IT worker shortages. It’s hard to believe that in today’s technology-driven culture there is a shortage of people interested in high-tech careers. With jobs in computing growing at twice the rate of other types of jobs, and virtuall…

Due to some changes in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the Iowa Department of Education will be holding a series of regional meetings to provide initial guidance.  Public and nonpublic schools may participate in any of the regional meetings. Department program leaders from our Title progra…