education roundtable discussions

Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds will hold three hour-long roundtable discussions on Wednesday, July 13, to gain a deeper understanding of changes needed to create world-class schools across the state. The conversations will be live-streamed and videos will be posted afterward. 


The governor and lieutenant governor also will host seven town hall meetings around Iowa to listen to Iowans’ ideas for improving education before the Iowa Education Summit July 25-26.  “We have a wonderful line-up of participants for each roundtable,” said Branstad. “We are looking forward to great discussions, and hope many Iowans will have the opportunity to watch.”


“Iowa used to be a top performer on national tests, but has slipped toward the middle of the rankings,” said Reynolds. “We have a proud education tradition to build on, and must assure our students are not just best in the nation again but globally competitive as well.”

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

10 a.m.          Gov. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Reynolds hold business leaders’ roundtable.

                        Governor’s Office – Large Conference Room

                        State Capitol

                        Des Moines, IA

Leaders will talk about the qualities, skills and knowledge they need in a globally competitive workforce.

Panelists are:

·        John C.  Bloomhall, President and Chief Executive Officer of Diamond V Mills, Inc.

·        Clayton M. Jones, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rockwell Collins, Inc.

·        Mary A. O’Keefe, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for the Principal Financial Group

·        Paul E. Schickler, President of Pioneer Hi-Bred

·        Suku Radia, CEO and President of Bankers Trust

1 p.m.            Gov. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Reynolds hold college and university presidents’ and K-12 educators’ roundtable.

Governor’s Office – Large Conference Room

                        State Capitol

                        Des Moines, IA

Leaders will discuss how to better prepare more students for college and post-secondary training.

Panelists are:

·        Katie Mulholland, Linn-Mar Superintendent and Iowa Board of Regents Member

·        Deb Derr, North Iowa Area Community College President

·        Jon L. Erickson, ACT Interim President of the Education Division

·        Greg L. Geoffroy, Iowa State University President

·        Paul R. Gausman, Sioux City Superintendent

·        Kent Henning, Grand View  University President

3 p.m.            Gov. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Reynolds hold teachers’ roundtable.

                   Governor’s Office – Large Conference Room

                        State Capitol

                        Des Moines, IA

Teachers will talk about what they need to be more effective in the classroom.

Panelists are:

·        Nick Bradley, Denison High School English Teacher

·        Jessica Gogerty, School Improvement Leader at North High School in Des Moines, where she previously taught science

·        Philip Moss, North Tama Junior High and High School Social Studies Teacher

·        April Pforts, Mount Pleasant Middle School Mathematics Teacher

·        Amy Prime, Berg Elementary School Second-Grade Teacher, Newton

·        Jerry Serrano, Wood Intermediate School Sixth-Grade Social Studies Teacher, Davenport

Linda Fandel, special assistant for education in the Office of the Governor, and Iowa Department of Education Director Jason Glass will moderate the conversations.

JDL Horizons, using its flagship Internet streaming solution EduVision, will produce and stream the roundtable events in cooperation with the governor’s office. eSchool Media will accept the stream and deliver the roundtable events to a national audience of nearly 1 million K-12 educators throughout North America and around the world. The stream can be seen live at https://educateiowa.eduvision.tv/SchoolLiveSchedules.aspx.Or go to the Iowa Department of Education website to find a link to the stream or to watch roundtable videos later.

The embed codes for the roundtable discussions will be made available to media outlets following the live event for on-delay viewing.

To learn more about roundtable participants and the town hall meetings, please go to:http://iowaeducation.iowa.gov/education-summit.  The Iowa Department of Education Summit website is:http://educateiowa.gov.