Mt. Pleasant teacher invited to Gov. Branstad?s roundtable discussion on education

Mt. Pleasant middle school mathematics teacher April Pforts will attend a roundtable discussion in Des Moines this afternoon, July 13, hosted by Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds.

Pforts is one of six panelists who will discuss what teachers need in order to be more effective in the classroom.

Her 3 p.m. panel, along with others, will be streamed live on the Internet to nearly one million K-12 educators in the country and around the world. The public may stream the roundtable event at https://educateiowa.eduvision.tv/SchoolLiveSchedules.aspx. There is also a link on the Iowa Department of Education website, where videos will be posted later.

?We have a wonderful line-up of participants for each roundtable,? Branstad said. ?We are looking forward to great discussions, and hope many Iowans will have the opportunity to watch.?

Reynolds noted that although Iowa used to be a top performer on national tests, the state has slipped toward the middle of the rankings and would like to again rise to the top.

?We have a proud education tradition to build on, and must assure our students are not just best in the nation again but globally competitive as well,? Reynolds said.

Other roundtable topics include skills and knowledge needed in a globally competitive work force and how to better prepare students for college.

The governor and lieutenant governor will also host several town hall meetings around Iowa to listen to Iowans? ideas for improving education before the Iowa Education Summit on July 25 and 26.