Letter from the President

To be honest, I woke up that morning already spent. I had been fighting the seniors and their senioritis all week, I had been preparing students for ISASPs and AP testing, and I had just started training a new puppy. On the drive up to Ames, I grabbed a Starbucks, plugged in an audiobook, and summoned all the energy I had.

As I walked up to meet the board, I saw their warm and inviting faces. I knew the important work was going to be done. I knew we would have a productive day to move our organization forward. I knew it was going to be a day full of my people.

I left our meeting feeling rejuvenated from being with these amazing English teacher leaders. They had plans, goals, and strategies to move forward. We refined an advocacy definition to guide our work. We planned our annual fall conference. We envisioned our partnership with the Iowa Writing Project.

After a full day of community and learning, I can’t wait to share with you more of their efforts to come.

Sincerely,

Nikki Smith

ICTE President

Iowa Middle School Teacher of Excellence Award

Laura Muxfeldt is an amazing human and Junior high literature teacher. She has been teaching for over 30 years and has molded thousands of young minds. She prepares her students for the realities of high school reading – both literary and informational – in such a way that the students are challenged yet they feel proud of the accomplishments they make every day. Mux is often touted as a favorite teacher due to her high expectations and love for literature. I loved visiting Mux’s classroom. She was always game to try new things – Socratic Smackdown, interactive journals, technology tools such as Padlet or WeVideo or Adobe Spark and to challenge students with depth of learning questions that got them thinking more deeply about what they read. Mux is a gem. She is every student’s biggest cheerleader…and every teacher’s best collaborator. She is beyond deserving of this award.

Please consider nominating someone for the 2025 award to be presented October 16th.

Colleen Flathers

Recognition Coordinator

For more than 45 years, ICTE and its sister organization, the Iowa Writing Project, have supported each other in their goals and visions.

As IWP reimagines itself, ICTE is excited to support this work. Please find a list of new offerings and programs at their website.