The Iowa Department of Education is now accepting grant applications for the first round of the 2023-24 Career Academy Incentive Fund is now open. Grant applications for this round will be accepted through Nov. 16.

Submissions must include collaboration between at least one Iowa school district and one community college. Partnerships that promote equitable access to high-quality career and technical education (CTE) programs are strongly encouraged to apply. Priority consideration will go to applicants who focus on programming delivered through regional centers and focus on partnerships between multiple Iowa school districts and a local community college. 

The Career Academy Incentive Fund is provided through the 2019 reauthorization of Secure an Advanced Vision for Education (SAVE), and individual grant programs can be awarded up to $1 million for career academy development and expansion. The number of grant awards is based on the amount of funds available and the scope of projects submitted.

The 2023-24 Career Academy Incentive Fund marks the seventh round of grants. The most recent awardee was Iowa Western Community College, which received $1 million in funding for the development of a new regional center. 

Career academies play an important role in expanding access to CTE programs for Iowa’s students. Valuable skill development, career exploration, work-based learning and professional training for high-demand careers are provided through career academies.

Current information and grant applications materials can be found on the Department’s Career Academy Incentive Fund webpage. 

Questions regarding the Career Academy Incentive Fund may be directed to Heather Meissen at heather.meissen@iowa.gov.

Who will be Iowa’s next top agriculture educator of the year? The nominating period for the 2023-24 Golden Owl Award honoring excellence in agriculture education is now open for submissions. 

Sponsored by the Iowa FFA Foundation, Nationwide Insurance and other partners in agriculture, the annual Golden Owl Award celebrates the outstanding work of agriculture education leaders in Iowa. Students, fellow teachers, faculty and other partners are invited to submit nominations for exceptional ag educators who have made a difference. 

“Iowa has some of the best agriculture educators in the country,” said Matthew Eddy, Iowa FFA state adviser and agriculture education consultant at the Iowa Department of Education. “They are making an impact with students and communities and are providing high-quality, hands-on learning opportunities. It’s important that we recognize their outstanding work.”  

Seven finalists for the award will be selected in early 2024. Each finalist will receive a $500 prize, a commemorative engraved plaque and the chance to be named as Iowa’s top agriculture educator. A grand prize of $3,000 and the Golden Owl trophy will be presented to the winner at the Iowa FFA Convention next April.

In recent years, nominations for the award have seen record numbers of over 400 submissions. The 2022-23 Golden Owl awardee was Emily Kruse from North School Community School District. 

“We’d love to keep breaking the record and see even more nominations come in this year,” Eddy said. “Your nomination itself helps celebrate Iowa’s ag educators.” 

Nominations for the Golden Owl Award will be accepted through Dec. 1.

For more information, contact Matthew Eddy at matthew.eddy@iowa.gov or 515-515-720-8863.

For four former Iowa inmates, they’re ready to make a difference. They are serving as the first ambassadors for the Iowa Consortium of Higher Education in Prisons (ICHEP) and will use their experiences as incarcerated students to help shape future educational opportunities in Iowa’s correctional facilities.

The ambassadors assist ICHEP with advancing higher education in corrections and serve as bridges to increase communications, understanding and cooperation.

“Being an ambassador will help me advocate for the importance of investing in education for incarcerated students,” said Vanice Heath, ICHEP ambassador. “I can also work with incarcerated and newly released individuals to promote and encourage an educational mindset.”

ICHEP is a multi-organization effort that focuses on establishing high-quality education for inmates. Representatives from higher education institutions, the Iowa Department of Corrections, the Iowa Board of Regents and the Iowa Department of Education participate in ICHEP planning activities. Adding in the new ambassadors to the ICHEP team offers a more comprehensive approach to the work and provides consumers with a voice.

“Education in prisons is growing, so we need to ensure incarcerated students are receiving quality experiences, similar to any other student in Iowa,” said Peggy Long, corrections education consultant at the Iowa Department of Education. “The four ambassadors will be a vital part of the consortium in how we reach inmates, how we can deliver learning opportunities and how we can help individuals find success.”

For more information on ICHEP and the ambassadors, contact Peggy Long at peggy.long@iowa.gov or 515-975-8398.

Over 60 College and Career Transition Counselors (CCTCs) and their supervisors spent two-days in early August at Kirkwood Community College as part of the kick-off to their training series for this school year. With the CCTC Leadership Team, Iowa Department of Education program consultant Erica Woods-Schmitz organized the training along with support from Danielle Sampson and Jamie Covell from the Department's Bureau of Student College Aid. David Ford and Mark Shea with AEA Prep and Roy Salcedo with Community Colleges for Iowa also presented trainings to the group and provided valuable content knowledge to support the work of the CCTCs. 

With the further expansion of the CCTC initiative, The Iowa Department of Education will award additional start-up grants for the 2024-25 school year. The grant application will open through Iowa Grants on Oct. 9 and will close on Dec. 15. An informational webinar will be scheduled for early October.

Additional CCTC information is available on the Department's CCTC website and the College and Career Transition Counselor one-pager. 

For more information on the CCTC initiative, contact Erica Woods-Schmitz at erica.woods-schmitz@iowa.gov or 515-330-0185.

Just in time for the start of the school year, an innovative new resource is now available for Iowa classrooms and college campuses. The Entrepreneurship Toolkit focuses on the value of business ownership for both students and communities and details how education can engage students to develop this career pathway.

Users of the toolkit will find a comprehensive look into how schools and colleges can incorporate entrepreneurship concepts into their lesson plans. Everything from necessary skills to sample course structures to different types of entrepreneurships are covered in the toolkit.

“The Entrepreneurship Toolkit is Iowa’s first education-based resource that focuses on entrepreneurship through innovative examples shared by collaborative experts,” said Kristy Volesky, education consultant for the Iowa Department of Education. “Educators will now have extensive examples and connections to help students explore their entrepreneurial dreams.”

Development of the Entrepreneurship Toolkit brought together thought leaders from the Iowa Department of Education, Iowa Economic Development Authority, Volunteer Iowa and other industry experts, and each party agreed how valuable this collaborative effort will be for career readiness and discovery in Iowa’s classrooms.

For more information on the Entrepreneurship Toolkit, contact Volesky at kristy.volesky@iowa.gov or 515-971-0669.

Come be a part of this first-ever gathering of Iowa higher education mental health and wellbeing professionals! The 2023 Iowa BEST Summit is set for Oct. 5-6 in Des Moines and will feature sessions specifically for higher education professionals.

This year's theme is "Creating a Culture of Caring." Notable highlights for the higher education track feature: 

• Plenary session from the Regent Universities about their work implementing the Okanagan Charter to create health-promoting campuses
• Multiple concurrent workshops focused on the themes of caring for self and caring for others led by Iowa higher education and wellbeing experts
• Roundtable discussions on successes and struggles, information, collaborative opportunities and resources

Registration for the summit is free. All college staff and faculty in Iowa interested in campus mental health and wellbeing are encouraged to attend. 

More information on the summit's schedule and session details will be available soon. Register for the Iowa BEST Summit today! 

The next Pathway Pillars in Practice webinar will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 19 at 12 p.m. and will focus on the topics of communicating pathways across an institution and creating a culture of pathways. Kelly Friesleben, education program consultant, will give an overview and share examples from other community colleges outside of Iowa. Additionally, Southeastern Community College will share information on how they have created a college-wide culture for Guided Pathways. There will also be time for questions and breakout discussion groups. Register for this webinar today! 

Pathway Pillars in Practice is a bi-semester series of webinars that create communities of practice around specific topics related to one of the four pillars of Guided Pathways. Each session is held over the lunch hour so anyone can participate and engage in discussion on a topic presented first by the Department and secondly by one of the 15 community college districts.

For more information, contact Kelly Friesleben at kelly.friesleben@iowa.gov or 515-868-2847.