By:Kylen Mills
kmills@cbs4qc.com
Governor
Branstad said education will be a focal point of the Iowa government in the upcoming year.
Wednesday
at his condition of the state address the governor said he's committed to
improving education.
A main
focus is teaching. The governor wants to update the teaching system with a new
leadership and pay structure.
The
minimum salary for new teachers would rise, and other incentives would be
created to encourage top students to get into the teaching field, and to stay
there.
Bettendorf
schools Superintendent Theron Schutte says you have to reward the teachers that
are giving it their all.
"I
think anything we can do to pay our best teachers in order to make sure that
they're in positions that can help move our districts forward is a move in the
right direction," said Schutte.
Another
proposal is to create a new test for high school seniors to determine if
they're career ready.
The test would identify the skills that are needed to go
into not only college but the work force. The goal is to help connect students
and employers.
Schutte
says employers might find this test more useful, but the fear is too many
tests would wear down the high schools students.
"This
test is identifying things that are more relevant to us than some of these
other tests that the state and federal government are requiring. Then I guess
the key would be to figure out can something go off the plate in order to put
something different on the plate."
The
only question left is which parts of the proposals will get passed through the Iowa Legislature and how
much will be budgeted.
