Posts Tagged ‘Iowa’
Author: deanfiihr Published: April 14th, 2010
The ongoing mission to establish Iowa as a leader in renewable energy received further confirmation as the American Wind Energy Association released its year-end report for 2009. According to AWEA, Iowa leads the nation by generating 14 percent of all of the electricity consumed in the state with wind.
According to the AWEA report, Iowa added 879 megawatts of generational capacity in 2009, an impressive gain in an otherwise stagnant economy. Today, Iowa ranks second in the nation in total generation with 3,670 MW from 2,534 turbines. The national leader in overall production continues to be Texas.
Iowa leads the nation in wind energy jobs and, because of the state’s position, hosts nine international companies manufacturing for the wind industry, with more than 200 manufacturers in the wind power supply chain, employing more than 2,300 Iowans. Additionally, five community colleges and all three Regents institutions have formed the Iowa Alliance for Wind Innovation and Novel Development (IAWIND), a consortium focused on growing the industry and creating further career opportunities.
Tags: Iowa, leader, Wind Energy
Category Environment |
Author: deanfiihr Published: April 5th, 2010
DES MOINES, Iowa – The U.S. Department of Education announced the Iowa Department of Education, in partnership with the University of Northern Iowa (UNI), Stanford University, and UCLA, is one of 12 organizations to receive a more than $9 million Teacher Quality Partnership grant, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
With these funds, the Iowa Department of Education will partner with the UNI, Stanford University School Redesign Network, and UCLA’s National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST).
The grant partners will work together to define emerging attributes of effective teaching and integrating those attributes into both teacher preparation programs and continued professional development for beginning and experienced teachers.
A key innovation related to the work will be helping teachers use technology to create a compilation of examples of professional work and student performance. The electronic portfolio will allow administrators to evaluate both beginning and experienced teachers to improve effective teaching practices.
“The long-term effect a teacher has on students cannot be determined with one test one time a year,” said Iowa Department of Education Director Judy Jeffrey. “In Iowa, we know that a portfolio of teacher work over time is a better indicator of a teacher’s true impact on students. This grant will allow Iowa to partner with state and national experts to develop a truly effective, integrated approach to identifying and nurturing the qualities of effective teaching.”
Distinct components of the work of the grant include the use of innovation and technology in Iowa’s classroom and UNI’s educator preparation program. UNI teacher preparation students will be able to gain even more hands-on learning experiences by joining various classrooms of rural high-needs schools in Iowa through online technology such as video conferencing. The intention is to broaden this effort and make it available to all accredited teacher preparation programs in the state.
Also included will be opportunities for professional development for prekindergarden-12th grade administrators to improve retention of beginning and experienced teachers.
This is a five-year grant that will establish Iowa in the United States as one of the models of best practices in teaching and educator preparation.
Tags: Department of education, grant, Iowa, teacher quality partnership
Category Education |
Author: admin Published: October 2nd, 2009
From the Chicago Tribune:
The funding is being awarded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act as part of an effort to expand enrollment and create jobs for Head Start teachers.
The funding will be divided among three entities. The Community Action Agency of Siouxland will receive $186,382. The Upper Des Moines Opportunity will get $117,436. West Central Community Action is to get $530,013.
In announcing the funding, Iowa Democratic Sen. Tom Harkin said in a statement Thursday there is no better investment that can be made than providing a strong foundation that will help children succeed in school and in life.
Tags: ARRA, Harkin, Head Start, Iowa
Category Education |
Author: admin Published: September 3rd, 2009
Unofficial results from the Special Election in House District 90 (Jefferson/Van Buren/Wapello Counties) have been posted by the Iowa Secretary of State. Initial results show Curt Hanson prevailing with a vote total of 3932 votes to Stephen Burgmeier’s 3825 votes. You can contact Curt using the form below, or by visiting his website.
No more submissions accepted at this time.
Tags: Curt Hanson, Fairfield, HD 90, Iowa, Jefferson County
Category Candidates 2011, Uncategorized |
Author: admin Published: August 26th, 2009
Jefferson County Supervisor Stephen Burgmeier has a long record that doesn’t exactly match his reasons for running for the Iowa House. In particular, his votes for increasing taxes while increasing his own pay. Click through below to see the ad:
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Tags: Burgmeier, Fairfield, Hanson, HD 90, Iowa, Jefferson County, taxes
Category Candidates 2011 |
