Our Mission
To provide services and
leadership, in partnership with families, schools and communities, that
improve the learning outcomes and well-being of all children and youth.
Our Goals
• Increase learning growth for students
• Decrease the gap in achievement
• Increase annual graduation rates
• Increase gateways to post-secondary success
Last week Gov. Terry Branstad named Iowa Department of Education Deputy Director Ryan Wise as the new director of the department. Wise, 39, took over the position on July 1, as Brad Buck transitions to superintendent of the Cedar Rapids Community School District.
Wise has served as deputy director at the Iowa Department of Education since September 2013. He has led the implementation of Iowa’s Teacher Leadership and Compensation System (TLC), including designing and executing the application and selection process, facilitating multiple statewide coordination teams, creating a principal support system and leading Iowa’s Commission on Educator Leadership and Compensation. In addition, Wise has served as the liaison between the Department and the Iowa State Board of Education and has been the representative on the Iowa High School Athletic Association board of control and on the Governor’s Council for National Service. He is also the administrator for the Department’s Division of Policy and Communications.
Wise earned his undergraduate degree from Creighton University. He earned a Master of Public Administration from the University of Nebraska Omaha in 2008. He earned a doctorate of education leadership from Harvard University in 2013.
Wise has made improving education his mission for his entire career. He was managing director for growth strategy and development for Teach for All from 2008-2010. He was the executive director of Teach for America in South Dakota from 2003-2008, where, among other achievements, he worked with both public and Bureau of Indian Affairs grant schools on the Pine Ridge and Rosebud Reservations to improve educational opportunities. He spent the first five years of his career as a history teacher at Omaha Central High School in Omaha, Neb., and Rosa Fort High School in Tunica, Miss.
It’s July already??? Welcome to your next installment of School Leader Update. Read more about the Iowa Department of Education’s new director, Ryan Wise. Also, you will want to register for upcoming family engagement and early childhood conferences. And learn from Attorney Nicole Proesch the difference in co-curricular and extra-curricular activities as they pertain to starting up in the new school year.
The Iowa Educators Consortium (IEC) and the Iowa Association for Educational Purchasing (IAEP) food program have united to become AEA Purchasing. The AEA system launched statewide purchasing services in 1999. To date, these services have saved Iowa schools and non-profit educational organizations over $100 million! In an effort to streamline statewide AEA programs, all cooperative purchasing responsibilities will now operate under AEA Purchasing. The names have changed, but the goals remain the same:
- Save Iowa schools time and money
- Research products and form vendor partnerships through a competitive process
- Offer a wide range of value-added services
- Remain a self-supporting organization and give back to participating organizations through food rebates and funding of statewide projects
- Collaborate with AEAs and school districts to develop synergy that can’t be attained through individual efforts
- Help both large and small school districts acquire quality products and training at an equitable price
