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As we say farewell to 2024 and welcome 2025, I'm excited to provide some very important and timely new updates, new resources, new opportunities and new tips or ideas to keep in mind as we head into the new year. The theme of 2025 is clearly going to be "new".
A new Work-Based Learning Naming & Coding resource was just released to help further clarify the new state definition for WBL and how districts should name and code their related programs and courses. This resource updates and consolidates previous recommendations on the Department's Career-Connected Learning (CCL) page. We appreciate your patience as we continue to update our other resources.
We will also be adding a new section to this monthly newsletter for our friends from the Iowa Work-Based Learning Coordinators called the "Coordinator's Corner" that will provide some insight from the field and other useful information from this group of WBL experts.
We look forward to supporting you on your efforts to launch, expand or otherwise improve your career-connected learning programs and initiatives in the new year. In the mean time, take care, be safe and have a happy holidays!
Sincerely,
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The Iowa School Performance Profiles (ISPP) rolled out last month and we've been getting quite a few questions regarding the inclusion of work-based learning in the Postsecondary Readiness Index (PSRI) measures. As noted below and in the ISPP Technical Guide, this measure has changed quite a bit from previous years, so please do not attempt to compare them for increases or decreases in performance. We are working with our ISPP colleagues to offer additional guidance and some virtual office hours or webinars in 2025 to help further clarify this and other changes.
2024 and After: College Credit and Work-Based Learning (Industry Recognized Credentials - IRCs to be added next year)
2023 and Prior: ACT or SAT Participation, ACT or SAT Success and College level, postsecondary or advanced coursework or Composite – the composite score of the four sub-components which was used in the accountability index score calculation
It is also important to note that only those types of experiences laid out in Senate File 2411 and noted in updated Work-Based Learning Naming and Coding resource will count towards this measure. Although still deeply important, other career exploration activities like job shadows workplace skills courses are not part of this new measure.
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Many schools and districts are not aware that work-based learning activities or experiences that are part of a course (otherwise known as "embedding") may count the same as a dedicated WBL course (e.g. internships or work-study) for the Iowa School Performance Profiles and other measures.
The staff, time and other resources necessary to offer dedicated WBL programs and courses can be a barrier for many schools, so consider embedding experiences into your current course offerings. Some examples would be a student-led coffee shop that is part of a business course, internships that are part of an agriculture class or project-based learning activities as part of a construction course.
These experiences would still need to meet the definitions and coding guidelines laid out in our new Work-Based Learning Naming and Coding resource to count, but many likely already do or would need very few changes or minor tweaks to qualify as such.
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The interactive work-based learning dashboard available on the Iowa Student Outcomes website has also recently been updated to be reflective of the new state definition for work-based learning with 2023-2024 academic year data.
District or school staff should check the updated information and conduct a thorough review of all identified courses, as well as any that may be missing or seemingly incorrect due to coding or reporting issues. A new feedback form has been added to the site to request corrections, clarifications or other information. This is being done to help ensure courses are being adequately coded within district Student Information Systems (SIS) before the transmittal and certification of winter Student Reporting in Iowa (SRI) data files here in the December-January timeframe.
Note: The data that appears on this dashboard is not going to align with data that appears for schools/districts on the Iowa School Performance Profiles (ISPP). There are various reasons for this, such as academic year of focus and data analysis processes or procedures.
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Be sure to submit your workshop proposal to present at the 2025 Iowa Work-Based Learning Coordinators Conference planned for April 14, 2025 at the Prairie Meadows Events and Conference Center in Altoona, IA.
The deadline for submitting a proposal is tomorrow - Friday, 12/20!!! Proposals will be reviewed and applicants will hear back from the committee in mid-January, 2025.
As I've mentioned before, this is a "must attend" conference for anyone working directly in or supporting work-based learning programs or initiatives across the state. In addition to hearing from nationally known speakers, there are so many opportunities to network, connect and learn from others from across the state.
The Iowa Department of Education and Iowa Workforce Development are continuing their efforts to expand work-based learning through a collaborative and informative series of webinars aimed at showcasing the many ways that Iowa schools and employers are building the workforce pipeline across our state. Special guests also include strategic partners like the Iowa Work-Based Learning Coordinators Association, Iowa Business Council and the Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council.
Past Sessions:
10/01 - Work-Based Learning: Essential Tool for Preparing Students for Careers (recording)
10/21 - Jump-Start Careers: Apprenticeship, Pre-Apprenticeship and Industry-Recognized Credentials (recording)
11/19 - Iowa Business Council’s ‘Top Four' List of Professional Proficiencies (recording)
12/03 - Where to Find Funding and Other Resources for Work-Based Learning (recording)
Upcoming Sessions:
01/21 - A Deeper Dive into Starting and Expanding Work-Based Learning
02/11 - Using Labor Market Information to Drive Work-Based Learning Decisions
03/04 - Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) Work-Based Learning for Students with Disabilities
04/08 - Linking Perkins, CTSOs and Other Programs for Sustained Work-Based Learning
As high schools across Iowa expand work-based learning, we are excited to announce that the Iowa Office of Apprenticeship (IOA), in partnership with Merit, has put in place a process to recognize high school Quality Pre-Apprenticeship (QPA) Programs and award students certificates of completion. This process involves sharing student data, as permitted by state and federal laws, to better serve existing programs and grow new programs.
Other benefits include reports analyzing each participating organization’s QPA data from Merit, whose portal will receive the data, and the option to utilize Merit’s platform for students to digitally track credentials earned and other achievements. In addition, a statewide dashboard will highlight QPA progress.
QPA is a set of strategies designed to prepare individuals to explore, enter and succeed in a Registered Apprenticeship Program. QPA includes meaningful hands-on training with aligned curriculum combined with scheduling flexibility. Many high schools are engaged in this work-based learning model that benefits students from all backgrounds, including students with disabilities.
As previously mentioned, the new ISPP Postsecondary Readiness Index (PSRI) measures the attainment of college credit earned through programs such as concurrent enrollment, but these programs are sometimes not aligned with work-based learning efforts and their students left missing out on valuable experiences and career context. By aligning concurrent enrollment programs with these goals and supporting students in meeting them, educators can help ensure that students are well-prepared for the transition to higher education and beyond.
Consider reviewing the recent brief What Do Dual Enrollment Students Want? by Aurely Garcia Tulloch, which highlights the needs and experiences of historically underserved dual-credit (concurrent enrollment) students. Based on focus group interviews, the brief identifies six key areas where students seek more support:
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Earlier Awareness: Students want to learn about concurrent enrollment options sooner.
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Informed Advisors: Students want well-informed advisors who empower them to make informed choices.
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Career-Aligned Courses: Students want concurrent courses aligned with their career and academic interests.
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Engaging Learning: Students want more engaging online learning experiences.
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Balancing School & Concurrent courses: Students need help managing the demands of high school and concurrent coursework.
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Financial Support: Students want guidance on scholarships and managing debt to make college more affordable.
Please consider taking a minute to ROAR for WBL - Recognize the great work of new or existing work-based learning programs or initiatives; Offer exciting news, updates or plans; Acknowledge others with notes of appreciation or kudos; and brag a little about Rewards or awards earned for Iowa's amazing work-based learning programs, coordinators, educators, counselors, employers and other partners or support staff.
Submit your ROARs anonymously through the basic Google Form at the link below. Submissions may also be sent directly to me at joe.collins@iowa.gov.
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- Congratulations to Melanie Bloom for winning the 2025 Iowa Teacher of the Year Award! Melanie is a 16-year veteran agriculture teacher from Sioux Central High School in Sioux Rapids. She is an Iowa native, farmer and agriculture educator who established the district’s first full-time agriculture program and serves as the FFA advisor.
- Happy retirement to Dennis Harden, who has served as the Bureau Chief for Career and Technical Education (CTE) at the Iowa Department of Education for the past 5 years. He has helped make a difference in CTE and work-based learning while in the role and will be missed!
- We attended the ACTE CareerTech VISION Conference recently and there were so many great presentations by Iowa educators! Mindi Heitland from Waukee, Kyle Kuhlers from Waterloo, Dawn Bowlus from the University of Iowa, Diane Fickel from Iowa City and Laura VanWaardhuizen from Iowa State...to just name a few. Everyone did a great job and we learned so much to bring back to our district.
Joe Collins
Work-Based Learning Consultant
Bureau of Community Colleges and Postsecondary Readiness
Division of Higher Education
Iowa Department of Education
515-419-5190
joe.collins@iowa.gov
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