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Sioux Central High School agriculture teacher Melanie Bloom was named as the 2025 Iowa Teacher of the Year during an assembly at Sioux Central Community School District in Sioux Rapids.
The Teacher of the Year award recognizes exceptional teachers who demonstrate excellence in the classroom and who have made a significant impact on student outcomes and their fellow educators.
“Iowa’s amazing teachers, like Melanie Bloom, provide students with what they need to meet high expectations and realize their incredible potential,” Snow said. “Melanie creates a classroom community where students are deeply engaged in what they are learning and why it matters. Through career-connected learning, she empowers students to make informed postsecondary choices and succeed in what comes next. Melanie invests in new and future educators, and believes that, together, our students make the greatest difference in the world.”
Bloom, a 16-year veteran educator, was selected from nine finalists who were named as Iowa’s first-ever Regional Teachers of Year representing all education regions of the state. Bloom also serves as the Prairie Lakes Regional Teacher of the Year.
Please contact Administrative Consultant Stefanie Wager at stefanie.wager@iowa.gov with questions about the Teacher of the Year program.
The Department pre-filed six bills before the start of the 2025 Iowa Legislative Session to:
- Embed career instruction/studies into grades 5-7 and establish an Industry-Recognized Credential Diploma Seal. (House Study Bill (HSB) 44)
- Modify the definition of grooming to include “the process of building trust and emotional connections with someone with the intention of exploiting them.” (HSB 46)
- Create a Purple Star School Recognition program for schools that best meet the unique needs of military-connected students and their families. (HSB 45)
- Provide public charter school students with access to concurrent enrollment opportunities and amend public charter school governing boards. (not yet introduced)
- Support teachers pursuing the Dyslexia endorsement by utilizing unspent funds in the National Board Certification program to award stipends for individuals who attain the Dyslexia endorsement. Clarify Iowa School for the Deaf (ISD) and Iowa Educational Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired (IESBVI) operational authority and streamline community college data reports. (HSB 43)
- Establish a fee structure for all postsecondary institutions seeking authorization from the Bureau of Iowa College Aid. (HSB 48)
Please also see the 2025 Iowa Legislative Session Timetable for the 91st General Assembly available here.
Please contact Legislative Liaison Eric St Clair at eric.stclair@iowa.gov with questions.
The Iowa Department of Education’s Profiles in Excellence series features innovative programs, instruction and practices that are making an impact on students in Iowa schools.
The latest video in this series features College Community School District and their work to empower students with multiple pathways to postsecondary success. College Community School District offers career-connected learning with opportunities for career exploration and hands-on work-based learning experiences in in-demand fields. Watch the video on the Department’s YouTube channel.
Please contact Communications Director Heather Doe at heather.doe2@iowa.gov if you would like your district or school to be featured in an upcoming profile.
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The Department is partnering with national experts at the Federal Education Group to provide a one-hour virtual training session for school districts on procurement, equipment, and supply rules that apply to LEAs that expend federal funds. The Department identified this as an area of need based on the outcome of the ESSER Flash Reviews conducted by the Office of the Inspector General last spring. Districts that have received a procurement finding have been notified that they are required to attend. All recipients of federal funds are strongly encouraged to attend the one-time training opportunity, which will occur on February 19, 2025, from 9:00am-10:00am. Participants must register here prior to February 17, 2025.
Please contact Federal Programs Bureau Chief Jillian Dotson at jillian.dotson@iowa.gov with questions.
The Department has launched an engaging, special education webinar series available to any administrator and educator with special education responsibilities. The Special Education Policy and Practice webinars highlight important and emerging special education policies and how to apply them.
Recordings and resources from prior sessions are located on the Department’s Special Education and Guidance webpage, and include:
Upcoming webinars are scheduled for:
- February 12, 2025
- April 9, 2025
- May 14, 2025
All participants can join the webinars via Zoom using the passcode 431127.
Please contact the Student Instruction, Evaluation and Services Consultant Mary Beilke mary.beilke@iowa.gov with questions.
All Iowa schools have access to Iowa’s MTSS Data Platform, Panorama Student Success, which houses early literacy and math screening data and can be used to organize, display and track interventions across K-12 academic, behavioral and attendance domains. There is a new feature available in Panorama Student Success now that will give schools the capability to securely share a student’s intervention plan with parents/guardians. Teachers will have the option to generate and send a unique, secure link that summarizes a student's invention plan and growth.
To stay informed on new developments as well as to receive reminders and updates, sign up for the Early Warning Systems (MTSS) email distribution list for important information regarding the FastBridge and Panorama Student Success systems, Early Literacy Implementation (ELI) and more. Sign up for emails at this link.
Please contact Administrative Consultant Greg Feldmann at greg.feldmann@iowa.gov with questions.
The student portion of the 2025 Conditions for Learning (CfL) survey will be available to Iowa schools interested in participating. Similar to previous years, the survey will be available in April. The CfL Student survey is not an indicator in the ESSA accountability index, but it continues to provide important data that assists in continuous school improvement. Since the survey is no longer included in the accountability index, active opt-in parent/guardian consent is required.
Due to low usage rates, the CfL Staff and Parent/Family survey will no longer be housed in Panorama Student Success. If schools are interested in continuing to administer these surveys, the Department will provide them with the questions and user guide to administer at the local level. Staff and Parent/Family survey data from previous years will no longer be available to view after April 1, 2025. Districts and schools that wish to have future access to data will need to download their previous survey results prior to April 1, 2025.
Please contact Administrative Consultant Greg Feldman at greg.feldman@iowa.gov for questions.
Iowa Code 279.72 requires that all educators employed by the district and holding specific endorsements complete the Iowa Reading Research Center's Dyslexia Overview Module. This requirement applies based on the educator’s licensure number rather than their current assignment. Educators with a current educator license in Iowa with any of the designated licensure numbers must take the module. Use the following guidance to ensure completion of all required personnel:
- Any person employed by an AEA who holds a license, certificate, statement of recognition or authorization other than coaching
- School district personnel with the following endorsements:
- PK-K teacher, prekindergarten-kindergarten classroom (103)
- PK-K early childhood special education (262)
- Elementary special education (260; 263; 264)
- Prekindergarten through grade 3 (100; 106)
- Birth-grade 3 inclusive settings (1001)
- Dyslexia specialist (1761)
- English as a second language (104)
- School district practitioners and paraprofessionals assigned as:
- Title I teachers (102; 148; 176)
- Title I paraprofessionals under ESSA
Please contact Education Program Consultant for Dyslexia/Science of Reading Wanda Steuri at wanda.steuri@iowa.gov with questions.
The Department and Iowa Workforce Development are continuing to support work-based learning (WBL) through a series of webinars showcasing the partnerships between schools and employers across Iowa. "A Deeper Dive into Starting and Expanding Work-Based Learning" showcased innovative ways to successfully implement WBL programs, particularly in rural institutions. Register for upcoming sessions or view past recorded sessions. The full schedule for the work-based learning webinars includes:
- February 11, 2025 - Using Labor Market Information to Drive Work-Based Learning Decisions
- March 4, 2025 - Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) Work-Based Learning for Students with Disabilities
- April 8, 2025 - Linking Perkins, CTSOs and Other Programs for Sustained Work-Based Learning
Please contact Administrative Consultant for Career and Technical Education Heather Meissen at heather.meissen@iowa.gov with questions.
With recent legislation defining work-based learning experiences (Senate File 2411) and changes to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) Postsecondary Readiness Index to now include the percentage of students participating in a qualifying work-based learning experience, the Department has developed a resource to assist districts with the coding and reporting of work-based learning experiences. The Department’s technical assistance webinar on how to code and report work-based learning experiences is posted on the Department's Career-Connected Learning webpage.
To find more information on work-based learning, visit the Department’s Career-Connected Learning webpage.
Please contact Education Program Consultant for Work-Based Learning Joseph Collins at joe.collins@iowa.gov or Administrative Consultant for Career and Technical Education Heather Meissen at heather.meissen@iowa.gov with questions.
The next session of the Bureau of Iowa College Aid’s popular Iowa College and Career Readiness Academy is slated to begin February 3, with five courses being offered. The Iowa College and Career Readiness Academy is a suite of Iowa-specific online courses for college access and success professionals. The courses enable educators, school counselors and administrators to ensure all students are empowered to pursue postsecondary opportunities.
Please contact Community Engagement Consultant Megan Sibbel at megan.sibbel@iowa.gov with questions.
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The Department has partnered with SAS to provide the EVAAS platform to all districts at no cost. EVAAS is a robust platform that includes in-depth reporting of assessment results focusing on student growth. To support use of the platform, the Department will provide six EVAAS training opportunities. These will include learning basic EVAAS reporting features and specifics for Roster Verification (RV). RV is required for schools applying for the Teacher Accelerating Learning (TAL) grant opportunity. The Department plans to reopen the TAL grant opportunity for additional applications in the coming weeks.
Upcoming training dates will be held at the following locations:
- Tuesday March 11, Mississippi Bend, Bettendorf
- Wednesday March 12, Grant Wood, Cedar Rapids
- Thursday March 13, Central Rivers, Clear Lake
- Tuesday March 25 Great Prairie, Ottumwa
- Wednesday March 26, Heartland, Adel
- Thursday March 27, Northwest, Sioux City
Registration is required with specific date and location.
Please contact Administrative Consultant Greg Feldman at greg.feldman@iowa.gov for questions.
The Iowa STEM Scale-Up Program application period is open now for the 2025-2026 school year. The STEM Scale-Up Program provides a menu of high-quality STEM education programs to PK-12 youth in and out of school with training for educators to implement effectively. Educators are encouraged to apply and asked to secure the commitment and signature of the institution’s administration upon submission.
Iowa STEM Regional Hub Institutions will provide funding directly to STEM Scale-Up Program Providers rather than to the awarded educator applications. Applications are due prior to March 3, 2025, and must be submitted through IowaGrants.gov.
Please contact your Regional STEM Manager or imsep@iowa.gov for questions.
The Department is launching a Equipment Assistance competitive grant program for School Food Authorities (SFA) participating in the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). Applications for these school meal program equipment grants are expected to be available to SFAs in early 2025.
Eligible SFAs must not incur obligations or make purchases for the equipment prior to receiving the notice of award. Obligations made prior to the grant award will not be considered. Awardees of the equipment assistance grant must adhere to government-wide and NSLP Federal procurement regulations, which can be found in 2 CFR 200.318-326, Appendix II and 7 CFR 210.21.
As a reminder, SFAs may use the positive balance in the non-profit food service account for the purchase of equipment listed on the Iowa 2024 pre-approved equipment list, providing that the equipment is 1) procured following the federal procurement regulations linked above and 2) not purchased as part of a newly constructed/renovated kitchen.
Please contact your assigned Regional School Nutrition Consultant for questions.
The Bureau of Nutrition and Health Services received a School Meals Ramadan waiver from the USDA, which may be used when participants observing Ramadan are fasting during typical meal service times. The USDA offered a waiver template for state agencies to request a non-congregate meal option for school meals and some programs operating under the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) during Ramadan. The bureau will approve each participating School Food Authority or institution waiver application on an individual basis. A link to the waiver application request form will be provided to school nutrition directors and authorized representatives.
Please contact your assigned Regional School Nutrition Consultant for questions.
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Thank you for your work to distribute decodable books across 826 elementary schools to Iowa’s nearly 38,000 first graders. Investing $3.5 million to engage families and caregivers in reading with their children enhances and reinforces the instruction in every classroom in Iowa. If you have not yet distributed the books, please do so before the end of the year.
Kindergarten through second grade students who attended a Department-funded high-quality summer reading program or a Learning Beyond the Bell out-of-school program this year will also receive decodable book packs to further advance their reading gains.
As a reminder, the distribution was based on attending enrollment counts and the book levels were based on your early literacy screener data. If you need more or different packs, please reach out to iowa@justrightreader.com. Your work to support this initiative is very appreciated. Keep reading, Iowa!
Please contact Leigh Bellville at leigh.bellville@iowa.gov with questions. If you have experienced unresolved delivery shortages, please contact iowa@justrightreader.com.
The Department is launching a new newsletter dedicated to computer science education. The Computer Science Bytes bimonthly newsletter will provide the latest updates on computer science education in Iowa, including opportunities and offerings for districts and educators.
Additionally, the Department has released the Computer Science Coding and Data Collection Guidelines to assist school districts with coding computer science courses. The information will also provide more details on how the Department is collecting and displaying computer science access and participation data across the state.
To subscribe to the Computer Science Bytes newsletter or to find more information on the Computer Science Coding and Data Collection Guidelines, visit the Department’s computer science webpage.
Please contact Education Program Consultant Michelle Meier at michelle.meier@iowa.gov for computer science questions.
House File 2652 requires school districts to submit their emergency operation plans to specified law enforcement entities, including the Governor’s School Safety Bureau and the Iowa State Patrol in the Iowa Department of Public Safety. Per HF2652, these requirements were to be met by the first day of school for the 2024-2025 school year.
If you have not already done so, please meet this requirement by submitting your emergency operation plans to the Iowa Department of Public Safety at schoolsafety@dps.state.ia.us as soon as possible. Your plans will be securely stored and will only be accessed in the event of an emergency.
School districts are also required to submit their emergency operations plans to the local sheriff’s office and/or police department. If a school district's boundaries include multiple counties or service is provided to schools by multiple local police departments, the plans should be shared accordingly.
Emergency operation plans are confidential and are not public records under Iowa Code Chapter 22. The Department and the Governor’s School Safety Bureau recommend school districts place a confidential warning on emergency operation plans to prevent accidental disclosure.
Please contact Governor’s School Safety Bureau Chief and Special Agent in Charge Matt Anderson at mranderson@dps.state.ia.us with questions.
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 Visit and subscribe to the Annual Notices and Deadlines Calendar for a list of state and federal notices and deadlines for all public and nonpublic schools.
It is the policy of the Iowa Department of Education not to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, sex, disability, religion, age, political party affiliation, or actual or potential parental, family or marital status in its programs, activities, or employment practices as required by the Iowa Code sections 216.9 and 256.10(2), Titles VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (42 U.S.C. § 2000d2000e), the Equal Pay Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. § 206, et seq.), Title IX (Educational Amendments, 20 U.S.C.§§ 1681 – 1688), Section 504 (Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. § 12101, et seq.). If you have questions or complaints related to compliance with this policy by the Iowa Department of Education, please contact the legal counsel for the Iowa Department of Education, Grimes State Office Building, 400 E. 14th Street, Des Moines, IA 50319-0146, telephone number: 515-281-5295, or the Director of the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, John C. Kluczynski Federal Building, 230 S. Dearborn Street, 37th Floor, Chicago, IL 60604-7204, telephone number: 312-730-1560, FAX number: 312-730-1576, TDD number: 800-877-8339, email: OCR.Chicago@ed.gov
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