Letter to the Editor: Open Letter to Board of Regents in Support of Price Lab

Dear Iowa Board of Regents,

I understand that the University of Northern Iowa President, Benjamin Allen, is planning to meet with the Board of Regents on Monday, February 27, to discuss austerity measures and to recommend that the Board of Regents approve his plan for UNI to close Iowa’s State Research and Development School, the Malcolm Price Laboratory School (MPLS). 

I fear that this is a purely economic decision and that the full implications of closing the State Research and Development School haven’t been fully examined. Before you make a decision, I urge you to weigh the value MPLS provides to UNI and the State of Iowa, both tangible and intangible, against the potential savings that could be realized by closing MPLS.

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Let us not forget that UNI was named the Iowa State Teachers College from 1909 until 1961, and K-12 Teacher Education has always been its flagship program. UNI is still renowned for its K-12 Teacher Education Programs, and Iowa’s Research and Development School is a large part of the reason. Since 1914, UNI has utilized a lab school that has served as the cornerstone of its Teacher Education Programs.

UNI currently has over 1,200 Teacher Education Students that would be affected by the lab school closure, and the environment that enables professors and doctoral candidates to develop and test curriculum would be gone!

The State of Iowa cannot afford to shut down its Research and Development School. It is a unique strategic resource that has played a crucial role in keeping Iowa’s K-12 education towards the top in national education rankings. Many of Iowa’s teachers train at UNI, and the Research and Development School is an integral part of the education that makes them some of the country’s best educators. Iowa has always prided itself on education, from Kindergarten all the way through Graduate and Post-Graduate level studies, and has made education a top priority. It must not be overlooked that the Iowa State Research and Development School is the cornerstone of UNI’s Teacher Education Programs, and the benefits of UNI’s model education programs ripple across Iowa and the country wherever UNI graduates are employed. UNI Teacher Education Graduates are sought after for a reason; they receive an outstanding education at UNI and MPLS! 

Having an on campus K-12 research school is an indispensable resource, which enhances the education of UNI students and the educational experience for MPLS students, as well. Shutting down MPLS would eviscerate UNI’s Teacher Education Program and transform it from extraordinary to merely ordinary.

The quality of UNI Teacher Education Graduates, along with the output of MPLS Graduates, is testament to the effectiveness of MPLS. The innovative learning environment at MPLS teaches its students to challenge conventional thinking, to think objectively, creatively, and to dare to dream. Perhaps most importantly, MPLS encourages its students to cultivate their identities and develop a self belief that primes them to succeed, both in the classroom and in life.

My graduating class of approximately 50 students includes: veterinarians, doctors, clinical psychologists, engineers, scientists, professors, teachers, lawyers, computer programmers, marketing managers, musicians, a detective, a webmaster, and more than a few dreamers, who will all go on to achieve great things. The success we have found is not an accident; much of it can be attributed to the unique learning environment that we experienced at MPLS during our formative years.

It would be a great shame for you to allow the State Research and Development School to close, and for UNI and the State of Iowa to lose a vital resource, just to save an estimated $2 million, annually. I understand that necessary renovations are another concern, but any investments made would be repaid many times over by the value that the State Research and Development School adds to UNI and the State of Iowa. 

With over 10% of UNI’s students enrolled in Teacher Education Programs, Teacher Education Program Resources must be a priority! A significant number of these students receive hands on training, and conduct their student teaching at MPLS working under UNI affiliated teacher/professor/mentors. I can't imagine the logistics of having to place all of those students in other Cedar Valley Area Schools, not to mention the fact that they wouldn't be working under UNI affiliates or be in an environment conducive to research and development.

Shutting down the cornerstone of UNI’s flagship program doesn’t align with President Allen’s established priority of “providing statewide leadership in Pre-K through 12 education.” Every President in UNI’s history has moved UNI forward and left a positive legacy. Malcolm Poyer Price forged the plans for UNI’s (then, Iowa State Teachers College) lab school to move from Sabin Hall into the current building that bears his name. Please don’t allow President Allen to eviscerate UNI’s top program, which would move education in Iowa backwards, and make him the first President in the history of UNI to move the university in the wrong direction. 

Very Respectfully,

Damian Bakula, MBA

NUHS (MPLS) Class of 1995