In Woodbine, Iowa, the school bell no longer signals a switch in subjects, but a switch in pace. This small school district is proving that when students learn at the speed of their own mastery, not the clock, remarkable results follow. With just over 500 pre-K through 12th-grade students, 46 teaching staff, and three administrators, this tiny school community in western Iowa is doing big things by fundamentally shifting how students learn.
Superintendent Justin Wagner of the Woodbine Community School District explained the new approach.
“As we looked at transforming our school system, we’ve created two different systems. On the main Woodbine Community School campus, we’ve created a Personalized Learning System for students Pre-K through 12th grade. Kids move at the speed of their learning, not at the speed of time. For students in grades 7-12, we also created IGNITE Pathways, a competency-based education model. We said that we can create two different learning systems and give parents and kids options in a small town. It’s really about choices.”
These choices mean students are no longer just sitting in desks throughout the day, learning the same material at the same pace as their classmates. Instead, each student is assessed to understand what they already know within the grade-level standards and what they still need to learn. The results are tangible.
“Last year we had over 50 percent of our students move to the next grade level standard,” said Woodbine Elementary Principal Jill Ridder. “For example, a kindergartner who has met proficiency in all of their English Language Arts (ELA) standards could move on to first-grade ELA essential standards.”
Because students may be learning specific content at different grade levels, they often shift to different classrooms throughout the day to work at the pace they need. “With our elementary teachers, we have content-based experts. For example, kindergarten teachers don’t teach every single subject because they are ELA content experts. Our first-grade teachers are math content experts. We share kids all of the time. It’s all based on their personalized learning,” Ridder said. Parents agree they’ve seen a positive difference in their children through this personalized approach. Emily Hatch is a parent of three children in Woodbine.
“When we moved here it was great because we definitely loved how progressive the school district was with personalized learning and interest-based learning. Personalized learning has been great when it comes to interventions as well as learning what little things we need to work on harder at home. It allows us to build a team with the teachers and staff to really push my kids forward where they need the extra help.”
Ann Fouts, also a parent of three students in Woodbine, added, “My boys are now in math a grade ahead. Instead of ‘we’re all the same and we all learn the same’ I love the approach that, ‘we all think differently, we all have our strengths and our weaknesses’ and trying to cater to those is really incredible.” Principal Ridder reflected as a parent, as well. “My kids have responded well to it. My oldest is an easy learner where my middle may need a little more support. I believe we have all those pieces in place whether they’re flying through the essential standards, going with the flow of the pacing guides, or whether they’re struggling. I feel like we’ve worked hard to create schedules that will keep them engaged.” Because learning is personalized, elementary students also gain access to interest-based exploration. “The students now get age-appropriate pictures and they circle which ones they are interested in. We know the research on exposure, especially in small communities where we don’t have a lot of opportunities sometimes, exposing someone to what a firefighter does, a doctor does, an architect does can change their life,” explained Wagner. Hatch agreed. “With interest-based learning, the elementary students aren’t stuck at a desk after lunch. They’re able to explore STEM or culinary...the things that you often don’t get until junior high or high school. It has been absolutely amazing.”
The Shift to Competency
As students transition to grades 7-12, their interests become core to how and what they learn through IGNITE Pathways. “The competency-based learning at IGNITE lets the kids choose their Career and Technical Education (CTE) area of interest and we take the core content to that. English Language Arts, science, social studies, and math are taken into a lens that is relevant for them. We believe long-term that they’ll remember it better,” said Superintendent Wagner. A challenge in offering courses aligned with interests is in finding the appropriate instructors. That’s why in addition to their full-time teaching staff, Woodbine hires adjunct teachers who are experts in their field to teach classes. Curtis Lee retired from a career in computer science and decided to get involved by offering students access to learning more about a career in aviation. A pilot and flight instructor himself, Lee believes in expanding what students can learn about while still in high school.
“It’s trying to help them understand what’s out there in the world and then giving them an introduction to that,” said Lee. “It’s gone from the classroom that I was used to growing up to where today, we are getting them out into the field and away from the desk. I think it’s so beneficial because it gets them into the business world. The evolution has been pretty dramatic.”
This unified approach couldn’t have occurred without the support of teachers, staff, parents/guardians, and the broader community. It also meant providing the appropriate resources to staff so they could transform how they teach. Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) focus on small groups of teachers who talk about how they instruct, what they can do better, and how they use data to inform instruction. “The PLC journey has helped guide us in instructional methodologies and how we use data to inform our instruction,” Wagner said. “We have first-graders now who are in third-grade math but are with their first-grade peers. What does that look like? You have to have the instructional tools and resources to make sure teachers can keep students moving.”
Teachers agree it’s been a big shift in mindset, but they are seeing the positive results. Woodbine Junior High Math Instructor Tina Smith shared her perspective: “It’s really been a shift in mindset of what teaching is supposed to look like. It’s being willing to be open-minded and creative in how you reach students and parents. It’s been a lot of changes, but it’s all been positive.” “The biggest tool you have to have is flexibility because it lets students be engaged all the time. My job is considerably easier with 100 percent student engagement,” added IGNITE instructor Justin Mills.
IGNITE instructor Taylor Kuhlman shared more about the open-minded approach. “The open-mindedness you have to teach in this type of system has changed from year to year. Finding out what is best for each kid has also created better relationships between teachers and students. We’ve gotten to know students better for what they enjoy doing outside of class and how we can relate that to whatever core content we are teaching.”
Students recognize the positive difference not only for themselves but for their peers. “It’s a lot more pleasant, not even so much from a personal perspective, but everyone around me wants to be there, too,” said Woodbine Senior Reagan Cogdill. “It’s refreshing knowing that I’m surrounded by people who are doing what they enjoy. Allowing students to consistently pursue what they’re passionate about at their own pace is good.”
Community Investment
The impact of this shift goes beyond the walls of the school. The broader community plays a pivotal role in supporting students and families. “Woodbine is one of those places where there’s always partnerships between small businesses and our school,” said parent Emily Hatch. “Our students can walk into a variety of businesses and get hands-on education.” Hatch, a former business owner, recalled one memory: “One of my favorite memories was an interest-based class. Fourth-grade students came in to learn about retail. Students picked out an outfit, we talked about wholesale cost versus retail cost to understand profit. Little things like that is what makes Woodbine special because we partner with small businesses.” “We’re in a smaller community so just about everybody is tied to the school in some way,” said adjunct teacher Curtis Lee. “I think that we believe that if we didn’t have the school, our community wouldn’t thrive. Community involvement and that tie between them is huge.”
From a young child’s first step into a pre-K classroom through career-specific learning, Woodbine intentionally transformed the student experience.
“We really created two systems that challenged the old system. We’re really proud of both because it gives choices for parents and choices for kids,” Wagner concluded. “We’ve had the largest student enrollment increase in school history and we’ve been named one of the best places to work in Iowa. It’s a tribute to our community, a tribute to our parents and staff on how much they’ve supported us.”
For Woodbine, the journey from traditional classrooms to personalized pathways is now the defining feature of their community’s future.
Keep reading for data tied to Woodbine's Personalized Learning System or to watch a video showcasing the district.
By the Numbers: How Woodbine is Improving Across the Board
- One of the top 10% fastest growing school districts in the state of Iowa according to an Iowa Association of School Boards report.
- Woodbine Elementary considered "High Performing" school according to the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP) 2025 report.
- Named one of the Best Places to Work in Iowa according to a 2023 Top Workplaces Poll.
- Named a Model Professional Learning Community by Solution Tree.
To learn more about Woodbine's Personalized Learning System, contact Superintendent Justin Wagner at jwagner@woodbine.k12.ia.us.
This story is part of The Iowa Way: Strong Schools, Stronger Communities A celebration of Iowa public education, presented by School Administrators of Iowa.
To read other inspiring stories, visit lead.sai-iowa.org/theiowaway.