State ed leaders wowed by area schools

State education leaders last Friday saw firsthand successes and new programs of area schools.

Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise, School Administrators of Iowa Executive Director Roark Horn and Iowa State Education Association President Mike Beranek spent Friday touring CAL, West Fork and Clear Lake school districts and took the opportunity to learn alongside students.

Wise said he was encouraged by the efforts seen at all three schools to give the students lessons and skills they can use later in life after graduation. “If students don’t see the connection between their lives and what they want to do after high school and graduation and what they’re learning in the moment, then that leads to disengagement and that creates all sorts of challenges,” he said.

Wise said that the chance to connect with students and educators at these school tours is important to see how the decisions made by the various state governing bodies affect the schools, what’s working and what may need to be addressed.

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