How is education reform currently happening in Iowa?

Over the summer, Governor Branstad invited teachers, administrators, and state leaders, to the Iowa Education Summit, a two day conference held with the purpose of opening up a dialogue about education reform in the state. Keynote speakers included U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan; New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie; and Standford University Professor, Linda Darling-Hammond; among many others. A number of topics were discussed and/or debated from the politics of education reform, to the tools necessary to bring about change, from analyzing what other countries are doing right and wrong, to re-valuating how we assess teachers and students. Despite political beliefs or educational philosophies, many people can agree on one thing: Iowa needs to bring about reform in its education system to stay economically competitive and globally relevant.

But how much has really changed in, say, the last ten years?

The “Iowa, Did You Know?”  video, authored by Scott McLeod,  attempts to answer this question by highlighting the transformations happening in Iowa and the world, and showing that schools today struggle to keep up in this global environment.

According to the website, Iowa Future, the video “emphasizes the magnitude of the challenges ahead, the need for Iowans to support the changes that schools must make if our learners are to be career, college, and citizenship ready, and the imperative to do this now, rather than later.”

"Iowa, Did You Know?" is based on the popular general "Did You Know?" series written by Scott McLeod and others.