Project lead: Alicia Espinoza
The Iowa Department of Education (IDE) is committed to providing all students with access to quality instruction to help close opportunity gaps. To support this goal, Iowa’s Bureau of Leading, Teaching, Learning Services is integrating an equity lens into all its work, and IDE is working with more than 20 districts throughout the state as they implement practices to improve equitable access to quality instruction and student engagement.
In 2019–20, the Region 9 Comprehensive Center (R9CC) is supporting IDE staff as they assess capacity for and needs related to implementation and systems of support for equitable practices in all content areas. This work involves collecting and reviewing interview data on how districts are implementing practices in order to find out what is working and where districts need additional support. As a result of this initial needs assessment, IDE and R9CC will identify appropriate next steps to support districts as they implement, monitor, and continuously improve equitable practices to increase student learning.