Reynolds names Corridor leaders to K-12 work-based learning advisory board

Some 50 people have been named to a new advisory board that will oversee efforts to facilitate more work-based learning opportunities for K-12 students, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Monday.

The board is part of Reynolds' 'Future Ready Iowa” initiative, which has a goal of 70 percent of Iowa's workforce receiving some education or training by 2025.

The board members include several Iowans from the Corridor, such as Rockwell Collins' Cindy Dietz, Ruan Transportation's Dan Greteman, ICR Iowa's Jennifer Daly, UnityPoint's Emily Brown and Laurie Worden of Kirkwood Community College.

Board members will advise the Iowa Clearinghouse for Work-Based Learning, which Gov. Kim Reynolds established in her first executive order in January.

'The benefits of work-based learning include connecting our classrooms to future careers with hands-on projects designed by educators and employers,” Reynolds said in a news release.

The clearinghouse is a joint venture of Iowa Workforce Development, the Iowa Department of Education and Area Education Agencies. It will be led by Iowa Education Director Ryan Wise and Iowa Workforce Development Director Beth Townsend.

Those agencies will facilitate K-12 school-business partnerships to build an inventory of established and new work-based learning opportunities.

When Reynolds announced the $250,000 initiative, she highlighted work-based learning already happening across Iowa. The Governor's STEM Advisory Council's STEM BEST program has launched 37 projects, involving 39 schools or school districts and more than 360 employers.

Gazette Reporter Rod Boshart contributed to this report.

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