Monday, November 17, 2014 - Jane Schmidt, Iowa Teacher of the Year
Jane Schmidt, Iowa Teacher of the Year will present “Iowa Core—The Game Changer,” at Rotary on Monday, November 17.
Schmidt is a 30+ year veteran teacher from Maquoketa Community School District where this past year she taught 8th grade literacy in the morning and served as Director of Professional Growth and Student Learning in the afternoon. This school year she is traveling Iowa serving as an Ambassador of Education as Iowa Teacher of the Year. Her work is dedicated to nurturing not only a love of reading and writing but also a deep understanding of their importance in today’s informational age. Her career began in special education in a variety of settings – self-contained, resource, co-teaching, and eventually full integration of services. While earning a Master’s in Special Education and working with special learners, she developed a passion for literacy, earning certification in both Reading and Language Arts. In 2004, she achieved National Board Certification in Early Adolescence/English Language Arts. She has worked in Maquoketa for 25 years with most of those years teaching middle school students writing and most recently literacy. In May 2013, she earned a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership with a desire to influence change within a system. As Iowa Teacher of the Year, she serves on the Iowa Outstanding Educators Advisory Council and the Department of Education Bureau of Educator Quality. Yeats wrote, “Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire.” According to Jane, “As educators, it is this belief that we must light a fire that keeps us striving for continuous improvement for both our students and ourselves. Every year we have an opportunity for new journeys with students, and lifelong learning is the key for that journey to be meaningful.”