Ames Administrator Said Curriculum is Sound

Despite changing political influences that have forced rewriting of the curriculum in , educational programming seems to be settled now and in a good place, a district official said at a board meeting on Monday.

Now that educators know what students should be learning they can focus on how to teach it better.

“We feel quite confident that the education plan we have here in place in Ames will really serve us well,” said Mandy Ross, associate superintendent.

The discussion of the district's curriculum comes with the start of the new legislative session that will likely include Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad's education reform plan.

Ross said earlier in the meeting that Ames' curriculum should not have to go through substantial changes even if Branstad's blueprint for education “gets legs this legislative session.”

“I think we'll be able to focus on professional development and instructional practices in the classroom,” she said.

In 2005, the Iowa Legislature passed the Iowa Core defining what students should know in particular age spans and then the Iowa Department of Education integrated the National Common Core State Standards forcing districts to meet certain standards in each grade or course.

Writing curriculum to meet those guidelines in the areas of literacy, math and science seems to have stabilized at least for the near future, Ross said.

Ames School Board President Dan Woodin said the state legislature has also discussed eliminating the Iowa Core, a set of state curriculum standards, and asked what to talk to their legislators about.

“What are your thoughts. … After doing all that work why would they do that?” he asked.

Ross said there is no good argument for eliminating the Iowa Core. 

Heidi Doellinger, the district's instructional strategist, said prior to the core curriculums each Iowa school district wrote its own curriculum but that changed when the Iowa Core was implemented. Doellinger said they aligned the district's curriculum with the Iowa core and again with the national core.

“It's tedious doing this again and again,” she said.