building world-class schools for iowa iowa department of education

Building World-Class Schools for Iowa

Iowa Department of Education

Iowa Educator Career Pathways

Key Themes:

1) Systemic approach

2) Loose-tight leadership 3) Focus on implementation 4) Evidence-based best practices


Career Pathways Recommendations

The Task Force on Teacher Leadership and Compensation made 13 recommendations. Several focus on the program components of a teacher leadership and compensation system:

• Raise Base Salary: New money for the explicit purpose of raising base salary to a competitive, appropriate level ($35,000)

• Improve Entry into the Profession: Create a residency year for all teachers new to the profession that includes a reduced teaching load

• Enhance Professional Opportunities: Create and fund a meaningful, well-designed Educator Career Pathways system with differentiated pay and responsibilities

• Address Critical Labor Market Issues: Incentivize teachers to teach in locally and state-defined hard-to-staff subjects and high-need schools

• Align Professional Development to Support the System: Develop professional development structures to align with the Educator Career Pathways and the Iowa Professional Development Model


Funding & Implementation

The task force was clear that its recommendations will be successful only if adequate resources are provided, systemic implementation occurs, and feedback cycles are developed. Accordingly, the task force made several recommendations related to funding and implementation:

• Review existing allocations, but focus on the infusion of additional financial resources

• Establish a Commission on Educator Leadership and Compensation to ensure consistent and successful implementation

• Build upon existing policy and statute, and provide adequate, sustained funding and implementation support for teacher leadership

• Set the boundaries of the system, but allow districts to customize within those boundaries

• Provide time for local planning and implementation inclusive of teachers in the decision-making process


The Career Pathways System

The most detailed recommendation focused on the development of a career pathways system. While career pathways may look different among districts and schools, the task force developed a model set of duties and responsibilities along a continuum of growth.


Teach Iowa Initiative

Teach Iowa would be a statewide effort to recruit talented education professionals into Iowa’s schools.

• Statewide marketing campaign to get top high school and college students to consider education as a profession

• Public outreach to build respect and appreciation for the teaching profession

• Tuition-reimbursement program for top-performing college students who get a teaching license and then work in Iowa schools for at least five years

• Job board for all education positions

• Year-long student teaching experience (pilot program)


College & Career-Ready Diploma Seals


A state-issued seal affixed to locally issued diplomas.

• Governed by a broad-based commission• Students earn the seal by:

• Completing the core course of study• Passing a series of end-of-course exams in core subjects• Completing a rigorous specialized series of courses, earning

at least a “B”• Passing the ACT (college-ready) or WorkKeys (career-ready)

assessments at college/career benchmarked level• Completing a capstone portfolio demonstrating the “Iowa

Core Universal Constructs” (Critical Thinking, Complex Communication, Creativity, Collaboration, Flexibility & Adaptability, Productivity & Accountability)

• Regents universities and participating private colleges guarantee admission with college-ready seal

• Participating businesses and industries give hiring preference for career-ready seal

• State would take four years to build this system out

Other Significant Components


• Teacher and Administrator Development Systems• Inclusive three-year process of designing new evaluation &

support systems• Revised teacher & administrator standards• Revised evaluation documents (rubrics)• Thoughtful use of student results (NCLB waiver implications)• Focus on developing fair and reliable systems• Targeted supports and coaching

• Iowa Learning Online• Expansion of the existing state online learning system• Self-sustaining in 3 years• Provided as a voluntary, blended-learning option and

supplement • Iowa teachers, Iowa system

Questions & Discussion


Thank You!


building world-class schools for iowa iowa department of education

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