Iowa education officials visit Van Meter

Judy Jeffrey, Director, Iowa Department of Education, Paul Yeager and John Carver, Superintendent, Van Meter Schools at The Iowa Journal show taping March 30, 2010.

John Carver finally got his wish. The Department of Education’s director came for a visit.

Carver is superintendent at Van Meter schools. He was a guest on The Iowa Journal back in March.

Carver openly invites everyone to see what he’s doing at his school. During my first visit, it was obvious from student reaction, they were used to having their superintendent give tours to people in suits. The students and teachers I met were not distracted by the me, but rather knew what was expected when called upon.

Judy Jeffrey announces her retirement. Photo from Gov. Culver's office.

Carver told me he’d long wanted the director of the Iowa Department of Education to visit his school. He even made another invitation during our show taping back in March. Finally on April 13, 2010, John Carver got Judy Jeffrey, and her interim replacement Kevin Fangman, into Van Meter schools.

This is quite the candid conversation by students to Jeffrey and Fangman. The exchange was recorded on UStream and lives here.

Judy Jeffrey is conducting the interview of a wide age-range of students at Van Meter. She’s retiring in May, but certainly has a future as an interviewer if she so chooses.

Jeffrey presses students what exactly is different at Van Meter, what are they learning, what does a perfect school like and other education topics. Some of those topics were covered in our innovation program. Here’s a post about what we’ve found during research for the program.

Twitter is also talked about in this discussion, how the students learn a lot from it, and how exactly do you sort all the good information from bad.

Kevin Fangman is listening to the discussion and starts to ask questions about 18 minutes in the video.

The video is long, but worth your time.

Judy Jeffrey to Retire

Judy Jeffrey announces her retirement. Photo from Gov. Culver's office.

I guess I should have asked Judy Jeffrey during her trip to IPTV last week if she had anything else to share. Then maybe we would have made more news with our program.

Below is the press release from Governor Culver’s press show. Jeffrey will retire and Kevin Fangman has been named to be interim director while a search is conducted for her replacement.

Jeffrey was on our program last week to talk about innovations in education.
She also visited with us about world-class schools. You can view that program here.

What should a new director of the Iowa Department of Education look like?
Any ideas on direction for Iowa’s schools and educators?

GOVERNOR CULVER ANNOUNCES JUDY JEFFREY TO RETIRE

Kevin Fangman named as Acting Director

DES MOINES – Governor Chet Culver today announced that Judy Jeffrey, the Director of the Iowa Department of Education, plans to retire next month.  The Governor has named Kevin Fangman, the current Division Administrator for PK-12 Education, as Acting Director until a permanent replacement is named.

“Judy Jeffrey is a national leader in education,” said Governor Culver.  “She has been instrumental in implementing our state’s core curriculum and creating our statewide preschool program.  In these difficult economic times, Judy has done an outstanding job leading this vital department and protecting the progress we have made in educating our children.  Judy exemplifies what it means to be a public servant, and she will truly be missed.”

Judy Jeffrey began her career in education as an elementary teacher in the Goldfield Community Schools more than 40 years ago.  She went on to work in the Council Bluffs Community Schools for 24 years, rising to the position of Assistant Superintendent.  She joined the Iowa Department of Education in 1996, and was named Director of the Department in 2004 by Governor Tom Vilsack.  Governor Chet Culver asked Jeffrey to stay on as Director of Education when he took office in 2007.

“It has been a privilege to work in a state where educators – from preschool to higher education – work collaboratively together,” said Jeffrey. “National experts have told me time and time again that Iowa has some of the best teachers in the nation and an education community that truly works hard for the children of our state. I am proud to have been called an Iowa educator.”

A search will begin for Jeffrey’s replacement.  Attached are headshots for both Judy Jeffrey and Kevin Fangman.

IPTV’s look at Innovations in Education

Virtual Welding at Sigourney High School. Shot take from IPTV.org/IowaJournal for April, 1, 2010 program.

Iowa’s education system was long known for being the best in the country.

Now, not as much as test scores are dropping in some spots while other rates, like dropouts are on the rise.

Here’s a post about the show I wrote Wednesday. It has full background on tonight. Or, just the press release version can be found here.

Now to the links TIJ #323 Innovation in Education.

Judy Jeffrey, Director, Iowa Department of Education, Paul Yeager and John Carver, Superintendent, Van Meter Schools at The Iowa Journal show taping March 30, 2010.

You can view the entire show here. If you do this before 8p Thursday, you can be cooler than your friends. That includes a feature on Van Meter, Sigourney and their innovative ideas. Plus it includes discussion with Judy Jeffrey, Director of the Iowa Department of Education and John Carver, Superintendent with Van Meter schools.  Our discussion was recorded in the Iowa Journal studios at Iowa Public Television on March 30. The original show’s air date is Thursday, April 1 at 8p and Friday, April 2 at 630p.

I’ve had some great discussions with people around the show. I am compiling a comment page. If you’ve got comments about the show, send those to IowaJournal@IPTV.org and we’ll get those included. You can also include your thoughts in the comments below.

Here’s the breakout of the pieces of the show.

Just the video story on Sigourney and Van Meter is here.

The entire discussion with Jeffrey and Carver can be found by clicking here.

Sailing Around The America's with David Thoreson. Shot from IPTV.org/IowaJournal

We also got to set sail Around The America’s with West Okoboji’s David Thoreson. We ran one feature here in the TIJ program and also a web exclusive, continued discussion with David. The show’s feature is here. The on-line only piece is found here.

That’s a lot of links, but fun viewing for the whole family. Plus, clean fun, except when the pigs got loose in the studio. You’ll have to watch the entire show to see that happen.

There will be a show about the role music education plays in our education. Look for more details on the show back here at Public Paul and Media. See, I had to do one more link just for fun.

Education is Innovative?

This week on the Iowa Journal Update:
Innovations in Iowa Education
Sailing Around the America’s
Beer, music ed and obesity
Healthcare Recap

Innovations in Iowa Education
What makes innovations in education? Is there any school in Iowa doing innovative things in the classroom and with Iowa students?

We recorded the discussion earlier this week, so now I can tell you a few more of the fun things to see Thursday night at 8p on IPTV. The show will also live forever on our website at http://www.iptv.org/IowaJournal

This week’s Iowa Journal tries to get into the innovation in education issue, in just 15 minutes. I know, not much time, but you’ll be surprised how much ground we cover in our discussion with Judy Jeffrey, Director of the Iowa Department of Education and John Carver, Superintendent of Van Meter schools.

We’ve expanded some topics to include 4 guests, but this time we went with 2 to give everyone a chance to flush out my crazy question list. What exactly does innovation look like? Is it different in each school district? What role will the Iowa Core Curriculum play in innovation? Will it help Iowa schools? How about the budget cuts to schools, will innovation be restricted because of tight budgets? Or is this crisis a great opportunity?

This discussion covers many changes coming in education.

Our feature includes a look at two schools in Iowa and their innovation efforts. Sigourney Community Schools looks more like a community college. Todd Abrahamson is about to complete his fourth year at Sigourney after stops at West Central of Maynard and Manson Northwest Webster to name a few of his journeys.

Todd says his district stands out with four innovations: eSEAL the East Sigourney entrepreneurial Academy for Leadership, the Keokuk County Career Academy for Advanced Manufacturing and Technology, 1:1 computers for every 70-12 student and the Virtual Reality platforms.

Abrahamson meets often with economic development leaders in Keokuk Country trying to make sure there’s a workforce for the manufacturing jobs in the region. Mr. Abrhamson is looking out beyond his district and the community. Major employers are Vermeer, Pella Corp, and Kinze to name a few in the region.

Sigourney HS just took delivery on a new virtual reality welder that is the only one like it in the country. Instructors from Indian Hills Community College are in the school to deal dual credit classes.

About 100 miles to the west is Van Meter. They too are a 1:1 school and also have a virtual reality program. This is the first year for that leased set up of computers. Teachers and students are interacting and on many levels. Students are creating the content and seem to be enjoying and learning at every level. We talk with Deron Durflinger, the secondary principal at Van Meter. He’s helping lead a big on-line experience and is hoping to have the biggest class catalog available for his students. Here’s his website with his links. Shannon Miller is also featured in the piece. Van Meter set up their own Twitter hash tag called #VanMeter and is quite popular in the education’s Twitter circles.

Both schools are smaller. Does that play into their abilities to try new things and quickly turn their ship and head in an innovative direction?

I had asked for several ideas and tips for this story. I appreciate each and every one of them. It also means a lot to have so many people engaged and invested in this program. Thank you for that. There will be a post with some of those comments to follow.

Sailing Around the America’s

From Around The America

We also set sail Around The America’s as West Okoboji’s David Thoreson is in the middle of a nearly 26,000 mile journey. There are some amazing pictures that are shown. You can view many more here after this background on his adventure. If this picture is any teaser for you, this may seem like a big job, but it’s quite a pretty journey. We talked to David just days before the earthquake in Chile where he and the crew just left port.

Next week we’ll get into quality of life issues in Iowa. This will piece together some of our work from previous topics and thread them together for you.

Beer, music ed and obesity
And coming up in the last few episodes before cancellation of The Iowa Journal, we’ll look at the beer industry and law changes, is music education important for fundamentals of education and childhood obesity.

Healthcare Recap
If you want to view our discussion the healthcare bill that’s now law, go here for our panel discussion. Our coverage also includes an interview Iowa Public Radio’s Dean Borg did with University of Iowa Vice President of Medical Affairs, Dr. Jean Robillard. You can view that here.
See you Thursday night at 8p, Friday at 630p and Saturday at 830a (IPTV World) on Iowa Public Television and The Iowa Journal.

If you have things you want us to look at, send us an email to IowaJournal@IPTV.org
We love hearing from you. Let our bosses know you appreciate this show and the discussions by sending them a note as well.

Press Release for Innovative Education in Iowa

We are recording Thursday’s show today, so this week may seem a bit out-of-order. So, please, bear with me.

I will post more this week about the show, but here’s a little background from earlier this month.

Here’s the official release on Thursday’s program from the IPTV press release shop.

Innovative Education in Iowa:

On the Thursday, April 1 edition

of The Iowa Journal

(Johnston, Iowa) –Thursday’s episode of The Iowa Journal will look at how some Iowa schools are using innovative ways, including the use of virtual reality technology, to help children learn. This program airs Thursday, April 1 at 8 p.m. It will be rebroadcast Friday, April 2 at 6:30 p.m. on statewide Iowa Public Television and Saturday, April 3 at 8:30 a.m. on IPTV WORLD. It will also be available online at iptv.org/iowajournal.

For this episode, The Iowa Journal visited the middle schools and high schools in Van Meter and Sigourney to see how the use of virtual reality equipment, personal computers and online programs engages students and prepares them for the future.

In the studio to discuss the effectiveness of such innovations are: John Carver, superintendent of Van Meter schools; and Judy Jeffrey, director of the Department of Education.

The Iowa Journal will also present an update on the travels of Iowan David Thoreson who is on a 25,000 mile sailing trip around North and South America. Thoreson, from West Okoboji, is a watch captain, photographer and videographer on this voyage that has a mission to educate those they meet along the way on ocean conservation. The Iowa Journal caught up with Thoreson via Skype, while he was in Chile just days before the earthquake there.

For more information about The Iowa Journal, visit http://www.iptv.org/iowajournal or call (515) 242-3146. For information on how to watch IPTV WORLD in your area, visit Iptv.org.

Innovative Education in Iowa: On the Thursday, April 1 edition of The Iowa Journal
(Johnston, Iowa) –Thursday’s episode of The Iowa Journal will look at how some Iowa schools are using innovative ways, including the use of virtual reality technology, to help children learn. This program airs Thursday, April 1 at 8 p.m. It will be rebroadcast Friday, April 2 at 6:30 p.m. on statewide Iowa Public Television and Saturday, April 3 at 8:30 a.m. on IPTV WORLD. It will also be available online at iptv.org/iowajournal.For this episode, The Iowa Journal visited the middle schools and high schools in Van Meter and Sigourney to see how the use of virtual reality equipment, personal computers and online programs engages students and prepares them for the future.In the studio to discuss the effectiveness of such innovations are: John Carver, superintendent of Van Meter schools; and Judy Jeffrey, director of the Department of Education. The Iowa Journal will also present an update on the travels of Iowan David Thoreson who is on a 25,000 mile sailing trip around North and South America. Thoreson, from West Okoboji, is a watch captain, photographer and videographer on this voyage that has a mission to educate those they meet along the way on ocean conservation. The Iowa Journal caught up with Thoreson via Skype, while he was in Chile just days before the earthquake there.For more information about The Iowa Journal, visit http://www.iptv.org/iowajournal or call (515) 242-3146. For information on how to watch IPTV WORLD in your area, visit Iptv.org.