Hello, Iowa Arts Educators!

My name is Diana Hawley, and I am your new Fine Arts Education Program Consultant at the Iowa Department of Education.

I come to the Department from the Iowa City Community School District and bring with me 25 years of experience as a PreK–12 teacher, instructional coach, district curriculum coordinator, and university music teacher educator.

Last week, as a new consultant in the Bureau of Academics and Learner Supports, I was invited to take an inventory called Working Genius to surface my strengths as a team member. The results revealed I am an “Evangelizing Innovator,” someone who “derives real joy and energy from generating new ideas and convincing others of an idea’s merit.”

I laughed a bit as I read the report, but these qualities reflect what someone serving as a voice for the arts needs. As arts educators know–and Iowa Code mandates–the arts are integral to every child’s education.

In the coming months, I would love to learn more about what's happening in your learning communities and find meaningful ways to support or celebrate your work.

I'm imagining a few ways we could work together:

Translating Iowa Fine Arts Standards into Practice
Curious how our state standards might guide district-level curriculum work? Let's connect!

Facilitating Teacher Learning
Need support planning or facilitating relevant professional development for your teachers ? I'd be happy to help!

Celebrating Fine Arts Programs across Iowa
Interested in shining a light on the good work happening in your district? I'd love to visit your program and share your story.

Building Strong Fine Arts Programs
Have questions about program design, course offerings, career pathways, or how fine arts participation might show up in Iowa's school performance profiles? Let's talk!

The Iowa Department of Education works toward the vision of “building an excellent education system that empowers all students to achieve their full potential.” As such, a priority of the Department is Supporting a strong teacher pipeline through recruitment, development, and retention.

One way the Department delivers on this priority is by partnering with the Iowa Alliance for Arts Education (IAAE) and providing $50,000 annually to support the IAAE's Fine Arts Mentoring Program.

According to the IAAE Annual Report, the program "supported early-career teachers through 460 mentor visits across 62 Iowa counties, helped to build confidence, reduce attrition, and create lasting professional connections." This important work is something to celebrate! 

Learn more about the IAAE Fine Arts Mentoring Program. 

Music Will is hosting Modern Band 102, a free, online professional development workshop for P-12 teachers on Saturday, March 7, 2026, from 10 AM CT to 4 PM CT. Music Will is one of the nation’s largest music education nonprofits. Music Will specializes in modern band, meaning the professional development and curricular resources that empower teachers and students to explore and perform a variety of popular music genres, including pop, rock, Latin, R&B, hip hop, and country. Register for Modern Band 102 on Saturday, March 7, 2026. 

Additionally,  Music Will provides free curricular resources. JamZone offers lessons, practice tracks, and song charts for various instruments, including guitar, keyboard, drums, bass guitar, ukulele, music tech, vocals, and songwriting.  Music Will Academy features interactive asynchronous professional learning courses on guitar, drums, keyboard, songwriting, hip hop, technology as an instrument, and more designed for teachers build their skills through joyful music making.  All of these resources are completely free, and they can be utilized in both curricular and extracurricular settings.

Curriculum and instruction are local decisions within Iowa's requirements and supported by recommended standards. Links to external opportunities or materials are for general awareness and do not constitute endorsement or recommendation.