Rock Valley, Iowa — The Rock Valley Community School District is one of three districts to which Iowa Governor Terry Branstad and Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds are paying a visit this month to learn more about how the first year of Iowa’s new Teacher Leadership and Compensation System has gone.
The Governor’s office says Iowa’s Teacher Leadership and Compensation System is the centerpiece of Iowa’s landmark 2013 education reform package. It is being phased in over three years, with a price tag of $150 million annually when fully in place in 2016-17. The Governor’s staff says Iowans agreed to make this investment because it’s critical to restore our schools to best in the nation and give students a globally competitive education.
According to Branstad, better utilizing the expertise of many of Iowa’s top teachers in new roles will help schools improve instruction and raise achievement. Those new roles include instructional coaches, mentors and model teachers. With higher expectations for all students, teacher leaders support the more demanding work teachers must do by analyzing data, fine tuning lessons and co-teaching. The goal is for all districts to have their teacher leadership systems in place in 2016-17.
Branstad says that they are confident that this unprecedented collaboration by teacher leaders, teachers and school administrators will transform education across Iowa. He says that broad, bipartisan agreement in the Legislature allowed them to create the most extensive teacher leadership system in the nation.
Reynolds says that one of the biggest selling points for new Iowa’s Teacher Leadership and Compensation System is that it will do more to attract and retain highly effective teachers. She says that it is changing the culture of schools with more opportunities for ongoing professional development right in the classroom.
The executive pair will be at the Rock Valley Community School District Library on Wednesday, April 22, 2015 at 12:30 PM for a Sioux County Teacher Leadership Presentation. A tour of Rocket Manufacturing will follow.
