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The Iowa Teacher of the Year (TOY) Award was established in 1958 and is sponsored by the Iowa Department of Education through an appropriation from the Iowa legislature. The Teacher of the Year award recognizes exceptional teachers who demonstrate excellence in the classroom and who have made a significant impact on student outcomes and their fellow educators.
The award provides an opportunity to recognize an Iowa teacher who motivates, challenges, and inspires excellence; who is respected by students and peers; who is a dedicated professional that helps nurture hidden talents and abilities; who is a creative, caring individual; who takes teaching beyond textbooks and blackboards; and who is an exceptional teacher helping to redefine American education.
The Iowa TOY may serve as the Iowa Ambassador to Education, acting as an education liaison to primary and secondary schools in the state.
Back to topNomination Information
Anyone, including school administrators, colleagues, students, parents, college faculty and associations, may nominate teachers for the award. Self-nominations and nominations by family members are not accepted. Winners are chosen by a committee that includes representatives of the Iowa Department of Education, the Iowa State Education Association, the School Administrators of Iowa, the Parent Teachers Association, the past Iowa TOY, and representatives from higher education institutions.
Nominations for the 2025 Iowa TOY are closed. Nominations for the 2026 Iowa TOY will be available in February 2025.
Back to top2024 Iowa TOY Ann Mincks
Ann Mincks, a 15-year teacher from Hoover High school in Des Moines, is the 2024 Iowa Teacher of the Year.
See photos and watch the announcement video from the event.
“Each day, Iowa’s outstanding teachers, like Ann Mincks, provide students with what they need to meet high expectations and realize their incredible potential,” Snow said. “Ann is an expert in meeting the needs of students who are English language learners and leverages the Science of Reading to best support students. On behalf of Governor Reynolds and all of us at the Iowa Department of Education, we thank Iowa’s dedicated educators and congratulate Ann on this honor!”
Mincks, 39, teaches English to English language learning high school students, many of whom are newcomers, in the Des Moines Community School District. She comes from a family of teachers and has helped to increase literacy proficiency at her school through the use of evidence-based, effective literacy instruction grounded in the Science of Reading.
“I believe our actions as educators matter,” she said. “I want students to have an experience that truly breaks down the walls of the classroom and connects students to their future successes in a career and as a community member.”
2025 Iowa TOY Melanie Bloom
Melanie Bloom, a 16-year veteran agriculture teacher from Sioux Central Community School District in Sioux Rapids, is the 2025 Iowa Teacher of the Year.
See photos and watch the announcement video from the event.
“Learning from Melanie Bloom means something more than just reading from textbooks or preparing for tests,” Governor Reynolds said. “It involves experiencing a field not only of study but also of building and doing—and that means preparing for life. This is what teaching looks like at its very best, and it’s no wonder Melanie is the first CTE and agriculture educator in many years to become Iowa’s Teacher of the Year. It was a pleasure to present this award to Melanie in the presence of her students and colleagues.”
“Iowa’s amazing teachers, like Melanie Bloom, provide students with what they need to meet high expectations and realize their incredible potential,” Snow said. “Melanie creates a classroom community where students are deeply engaged in what they are learning and why it matters. Through career-connected learning, she empowers students to make informed postsecondary choices and succeed in what comes next. Melanie invests in new and future educators, and believes that, together, our students make the greatest difference in the world.”
Bloom was selected from nine finalists who were named last month as Iowa’s first-ever Regional Teachers of Year representing all education regions of the state. Bloom also serves as the Prairie Lakes Regional Teacher of the Year.
“Getting to know students, each of them, who they are, where they’re coming from, what they’re bringing to the classroom, I think that is the most fun part of teaching,” Teacher of the Year Melanie Bloom said.
Bloom is an Iowa native, farmer and agriculture educator who established the district’s first full-time agriculture program and serves as the FFA advisor. With about one in five Iowans earning their living in agriculture and agriculture-related industries, Melanie helps students explore diverse career opportunities in agriculture-related fields through engaging classroom instruction and work-based learning experiences.
“I think students need to be exposed to as many different careers of interest as early as they can,” Bloom said. “My job is to find and connect to opportunities and then prepare my students to take advantage of those opportunities.”
Beyond her classroom, Bloom is an expert in the development and implementation of high-quality agriculture instructional materials. She has served as a beginning teacher mentor and faculty member in an Iowa teacher preparation program. Bloom is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in agriculture education, working to support the implementation of evidence-based instructional practices.
2025 Iowa Regional Teachers of the Year and TOY Finalists
Central Rivers Regional Teacher of the Year
Kevin Gartman, Montezuma Community School District
Gartman is a ninth year business teacher at Montezuma Community School District, specializing in personal finance. He has been recognized as a 2023 Distinguished Educator of Personal Finance and serves in the district as a lead teacher with a focus on school curriculum. He also coaches both cross country and track.
Grant Wood Regional Teacher of the Year
Susie Stark, Cedar Rapids Community School District
Stark is a veteran elementary teacher with 24 years of experience. For 20 years, Stark inspired young minds in fifth grade classes, and in the past four years, she has served as a second grade teacher for the Cedar Rapids Community School District.
Great Prairie Regional Teacher of the Year
Samantha Freeman, Mount Pleasant Community School District
A 14-year educator at Mount Pleasant Community School District, Freeman currently serves as the talented and gifted coordinator for K-5 students. She holds a Master’s degree from Morningside College and has coached middle school girls' track to four conference championships.
Green Hills Regional Teacher of the Year
Sarah Stephens, Creston Community School District
Stephens, a special education teacher at Creston Elementary School, is a veteran educator with 14 years of experience working with first through fifth grade students. She has served as an instructional coach, lead team member, peer mentor and middle school basketball coach. Stephens also serves as a Paraeducator Certification Course instructor.
Heartland Regional Teacher of the Year
Blake Hammond, Des Moines Public Schools
Hammond earned his teaching degree at University of Northern Iowa and a Master’s degree in school administration from Viterbo University. He has been igniting a spark in science at Merrill Middle School in Des Moines since 2001.
Keystone Regional Teacher of the Year
Alyssa Dalsing, Western Dubuque Community School District
Raised in Dubuque, Dalsing pursued her Elementary Education degree at Clarke University after starting at the University of Northern Iowa. Since returning to teaching in 2014, she has taught various grades and currently teaches fourth grade at Epworth Elementary at Western Dubuque Community School District.
Mississippi Bend Regional Teacher of the Year
Kaitlin Mahoney, Bettendorf Community School District
Mahoney is a math teacher at Bettendorf High School, now in her 11th year of teaching and seventh year as a student council advisor. She graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in mathematics and is passionate about creating a positive and engaging learning environment for her students.
Northwest Regional Teacher of the Year
Beth Oolman, MOC-Floyd Valley Community School District
As a middle school language arts teacher since 1989, Oolman currently teaches eighth grade English language arts (ELA) at MOC-Floyd Valley in Orange City. With a Master’s degree in Education and 20 years as the school’s 6-12 ELA Curriculum Specialist, she also serves as an adjunct instructor at Morningside University and Northwestern College.
Prairie Lakes Regional Teacher of the Year
Melanie Bloom, Sioux Central Community School District
Bloom has spent 16 years teaching agriculture at Sioux Central Community School District in Sioux Rapids. A former FFA member and farm kid, Bloom helps students explore the field of agriculture through hands-on learning and FFA activities. She is also a farmer and is pursuing a PhD in Agricultural Education from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
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Past TOY Recipients
**One of four contenders for National Teacher of the Year
*National Teacher of the Year
| Year | Name | Grade and/or Content Area | School, City |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Melanie Bloom | Agriculture | Sioux Central Community School District, Sioux Rapids |
| 2024 | Ann Mincks | English Language Learners | Hoover High School, Des Moines |
| 2023 | Krystal Colbert | 2nd Grade | Mitchellville Elementary School, Mitchellville (Southeast Polk CSD) |
| 2022 | Sara Russell | Social Studies | Pleasant Valley High School, Bettendorf |
| 2021 | No winner chosen | ||
| 2020 | George Anderson | Social Studies | Kennedy High School, Cedar Rapids |
| 2019 | Christopher Burke | Mathematics | Eleanor Roosevelt Middle School, Dubuque |
| 2018 | Aileen Sullivan | Chemistry | Ames High School, Ames |
| 2017 | Shelly Vroegh | Instructional Coach and 5th Grade | Lakewood Elementary School, Norwalk |
| 2016 | Scott Slechta | English Language Arts | Fairfield High School, Fairfield |
| 2015 | Elizabeth Clemencia Bulthuis | Spanish | Merrill Middle School, Des Moines |
| 2014 | Jane Schmidt | 8th Grade Literacy and Language Arts | Maquoketa Middle School, Maquoketa |
| 2013 | Tania Johnson | Kindergarten | Jackson Elementary School, Cedar Rapids |
| 2012 | Charity Campbell | Physical Education | Norwalk Middle School, Norwalk |
| 2011 | Molly Boyle | 3rd Grade | Brookview Elementary School, West Des Moines (Waukee CSD) |
| 2010 | Sarah Brown Wessling* | High School English | Johnston High School, Johnston |
| 2009 | Linda Heffner | 4th Grade | Everette Elementary School, Sioux City |
| 2008 | Andy Mogle | Family and Consumer Science | Norwalk High School, Norwalk |
| 2007 | Jan Keese | 3rd Grade | Crocker Elementary School, Ankeny |
| 2006 | Jacqueline Warnstadt | 4th Grade | Leeds Elementary School, Sioux City |
| 2005 | Vicki Lynn Goldsmith | English, Women's Studies, Theories of Knowledge | Roosevelt High School, Des Moines |
| 2004 | Ernest Lee Schiller | Biology | Central Lee High School, Donnellson |
| 2003 | Diana Buter | Reading and Language Arts | Grinnell Middle School, Grinnell |
| 2002 | Jennifer L. Erbe | 3rd Grade | Starry Elementary School, Marion |
| 2001 | Gail B. Wortmann | Anatomy and Physiology & Advanced Anatomy | Ottumwa High School, Ottumwa |
| 2000 | Thomas H. Paulsen | Agriculture Education | Carroll Community High School, Carrol |
| 1999 | Maureen Hoffmann | English | A-H-S-T Middle School, Shelby |
| 1998 | Ruth Ann Gaines** | Drama | East High School, Des Moines |
| 1997 | Jan Mitchell** | English | Marshalltown High School, Marshalltown |
| 1996 | Jill Olsen-Virlee | French | Marion High School, Marion |
| 1995 | Jerry Pierce | English | Roland-Story Middle School, Roland |
| 1994 | Keith Robinson | Social Studies | Maple Valley High School, Mapleton |
| 1993 | Joan McShane | Science | Jefferson Elementary School, Davenport |
| 1992 | Nancy Mounts | Family and Consumer Science | North High School, Sioux City |
| 1991 | David Arthur Hunt | Social Studies | Clarence-Lowden High School, Clarence |
| 1990 | Pamela Adams Johnson | 6th Grade | Carpenter Elementary School, Monticello |
| 1989 | Anna Mary Mueller | English Language Learners | West High School, Iowa City |
| 1988 | Pat Roush | 7th - 8th Grade English and Speech | Neal McGowan Junior High School, Knoxville |
| 1987 | Richard E. Peters | High School Social Studies | Mount Vernon High School, Mount Vernon |
| 1986 | Linda Pershall Calvin | 10th - 12th Grade Social Studies | Urbandale High School, Urbandale |
| 1985 | Margo J. Chesebro | 11th - 12th Grade Language Arts | East High School, Sioux City |
| 1984 | Sharon June Lee | 3rd Grade | Douglas Elementary School, Des Moines |
| 1983 | Gene Ulrich** | Biology Teacher and Science Department Head | North High School, Sioux City |
| 1982 | Darlene Frazier** | Art Teacher & Department Head | Boone Community Schools, Boone |
| 1981 | Dan Gogerty | Language Arts | South East Junior High School, Iowa City |
| 1980 | Howard L. Carter | Multi-occupations Program | Central Lee High School, Argyle |
| 1979 | Richard A. Wilson | Elementary Physical Education | Centerville Community Schools, Centerville |
| 1978 | Helen Finken | Social Studies | South East Junior High School, Iowa City |
| 1977 | Shirley Jean Fouts | Social Studies | South East Junior High School, Iowa City |
| 1976 | Betty Burres-Youngs | Remedial Reading | Washington Irving Junior High School, Des Moines |
| 1975 | Alice Elizabeth Piercy | Reading | Iowa City Community Schools, Iowa City |
| 1974 | Genevieve Treichler Wallace | Woodlawn Elementary School, Des Moines | |
| 1973 | Goldie Michalek | Elementary | Mason City Community Schools, Mason City |
| 1972 | Jean Bogardus | Elementary | Clear Creek Community Schools, Tiffin |
| 1971 | John D. Beghtol | History | Centerville High School, Centerville |
| 1970 | Beulah Anderson | West Elementary School, Emmetsburg | |
| 1969 | Jane Sharp | Kirkwood Elementary School, Des Moines | |
| 1968 | James Lokett | Keokuk Community Schools, Keokuk | |
| 1965 | Betty Jean Hyde | Callanan Junior High School, Des Moines | |
| 1964 | William V. Houser | Science | Roosevelt High School, Des Moines |
| 1958 | Jean Listebarger Humphrey* | Elementary | Ames Community Schools, Ames |