SIOUX RAPIDS -- Gov. Kim Reynolds and Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow today announced Melanie Bloom, a 16-year veteran agriculture teacher, as the 2025 Iowa Teacher of the Year during an assembly at Sioux Central Community School District in Sioux Rapids.
“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.”
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.
“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.
The Regional Teachers of the Year and finalists for the 2025 Iowa Teacher of the Year include:
- Kevin Gartman, a junior high and high school business teacher in the Montezuma Community School District and the Central Rivers Regional Teacher of the Year.
- Susie Stark, an elementary teacher in the Cedar Rapids Community School District and the Grant Wood Regional Teacher of the Year.
- Samantha Freeman, a K-5 talented and gifted coordinator in the Mount Pleasant Community School District and the Great Prairie Regional Teacher of the Year.
- Sarah Stephens, an elementary special education teacher in the Creston Community School District and the Green Hills Regional Teacher of the Year.
- Blake Hammond, a middle school science teacher in the Des Moines Public Schools and the Heartland Regional Teacher of the Year.
- Alyssa Dalsing, an elementary teacher in the Western Dubuque Community School District and Keystone Regional Teacher of the Year.
- Kaitlin Mahoney, a high school math teacher in the Bettendorf Community School District and Mississippi Bend Regional Teacher of the Year.
- Beth Oolman, a middle school English language arts teacher in the MOC-Floyd Valley Community School District and Northwest Regional Teacher of the Year.
The Iowa Teacher of the Year award was established in 1958. The annual program is sponsored by the Iowa Department of Education through an appropriation from the Iowa Legislature. Honorees serve as ambassadors to schools, higher education and communities across the state.
Watch our interview with Melanie Bloom on our YouTube channel.
Photos from the event will be uploaded to our Flickr album.