UNI Legislative Update
The Office of Governmental Relations provides legislative updates to the campus community through online communication and bimonthly campus presentations. These updates will inform faculty, staff and students of hot topics facing the legislature and legislative actions affecting UNI and the Regents institutions.
April 23, 2008
Price Lab weathers adversity, emerges a leader
Just over six years ago, the closing down of a portion of the Malcolm Price Laboratory School was a very real consideration --- an attempt to deal with severe state appropriation cuts to the regent universities.
University of Northern Iowa officials considered eliminating the Northern University High School portion of the school and forming a professional development school partnership with the Cedar Falls and Waterloo schools to train 10th-through-12th-grade student teachers in the public schools instead of at Price Lab.
Ultimately, the school survived intact.
Late last week, Gov. Chet Culver signed into law a program that will heap further challenges, responsibilities and prestige upon the lab school.
The program will be designed to help train educators and focus on practical research to meet the needs of Iowa schools. It expands UNI's Price Laboratory School to become the State of Iowa Research, Development, Demonstration and Dissemination School.
"Today, with my signature, the state of Iowa takes another great leap forward toward innovation in public education," Culver said at the bill signing last week.
That's quite a turnaround for MPLS since the beginning of the decade.
"This is something that's very special to the University of Northern Iowa but will serve the entire state," UNI President Ben Allen said.
The school has been serving the state for quite some time. Price Lab has been in existence in some form since 1883 and has three main purposes:
Serving as an arm of UNI in the preparation of new teachers.
Engaging in research and curriculum development and providing professional development opportunities for practicing teachers throughout the state.
Providing curriculum for pre-kindergarten through 12th-grade students.
The legislation was announced after a task force composed of representatives from the three state universities, the Department of Education, school districts and businesses had been asked last year to evaluate potential sites and programs where innovative practices can be studied and implemented to improve student achievement.
Lab schools are a place where new ideas and materials are tested. The information gleaned is disseminated not only throughout the state, but throughout the country.
This new designation will be a huge shot in the arm for MPLS, which was looking at extremely tough times not too long ago. Most important, it could lead to more efficient and effective teaching practices.
Considering its long history of effectiveness, we believe Malcolm Price Laboratory School is up to the task.