Dive Brief:

• About 40 Iowa K-12 superintendents met with leaders from the University of Iowa Thursday at the university's Teacher Leader Center. to consider areas where education and business can come together.  
• The meeting provoked attendees to consider how the university could better its education leadership program, why a business-education relationship could  be impactful, and how the university's schools of education and business could facilitate these real-world connections.  
• The goal of the meeting was two-pronged: to find ways that better prepare young people for the job market and to create a support network for superintendents and schools looking to increase entrepreneurial activity on their campuses.  

Dive Insight:

The meeting's keynote speaker was Patricia Neudecker, the education director of The Woodrow Wilson MBA Fellowship in Education Leadership at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. Having the perspective of education, business, and some of the STEM skills that have increased in popularity in recent years, Neudecker's expertise and background complimented the shifting goals of education in America. After her speech, Neudecker spoke about how, nationally, superintendents are retiring at a high rate and the need for new talent has increased. While the reason for this high turnover was not explained, the comment indicated there may be a shift in coming years in how schools are run as more fresh blood rises through the ranks.  

This desire to combine business and education is not new.  In fact, many of the Common Core's biggest supporters are members of the business community who hope more rigorous standards will ultimately better prepare the future work force. From a non-testing angle, the intersection of business and education has other benefits. As Dave Benson, superintendent of the Cedar Rapids Community School District, told the Iowa City Press-Citizen, "We can have our students work on entrepreneurial projects and have that connected with, for example, the Tippie School of Business.” The collaboration may not just mean more testing, but hands-on projects.