WOODBINE, Iowa (KMTV) — Thanks to a veteran, innovation is changing the education model in Woodbine, Iowa. The school district is offering a new way for students to prepare for their future.
Superintendent – and veteran – Colonel Justin Wagner is leading the charge when it comes to taking a different approach to learning. The key is letting students have a say in how they learn.
“It’s time we stop making kids feel less-than because they have a different talent set. And so that's what we're doing. And it's different and it's hard. But what we're seeing, the returns are incredible,” said Wagner.
A first-of-its-kind learning model in Iowa, the program focuses on learning by doing versus the traditional classroom-work approach. It’s already getting results.
“In our first quarter of implementation, which is this year, our first true deep quarter of implementation, the early returns are student achievement is up, discipline referrals are down, and attendance is up.”
This is all due to letting students have a say in how they learn.
“The Chapter 12 waiver is allowing us to create a system that meets kid’s needs, not a system that meets adult’s needs or just a system that meets the system's needs,” said Wagner.
This is just the beginning.
Soon his students will have a new facility dedicated to this new way of learning called the Ignite Pathways Regional Center. It will offer dozens of courses and students can earn their core credits through career and technical education.
Wagner calls it a game-changer.
“We believe there's math in agriculture. We believe there's science in agriculture. We believe there's language arts in agriculture, and we believe there's history or social studies in agriculture.”
The students will get to choose their technical education courses, using lessons from the real world.
“We bring the content area experts to them, so they learn welding from a welding expert and the language arts, math, social studies, and science teachers say, ‘Okay, I'm going to tell you how science is used to MiG Weld. I'm going to tell you the history of welding, which is really fascinating.’”
And at the foundation of the new center are members of the Iowa Air National Guard 185th Air Refueling Wing.
There is a new tension fabric structure already erected that will be used to house the servicemembers who will travel to Woodbine to build the new Ignite Pathways building, through the Department of Defense Innovative Readiness Training program.
It's a unit Superintendent Wagner has a connection to; he's also a colonel in the Iowa Air National Guard and Vice Wing Commander for the 185th.
He draws parallels between his service to our country and his service to his young students.
“Those three guiding lights and the military side – integrity first, service above, self-excellence and all. I do think about those all the time, you know, and try to strive towards those.”
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