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      The newly formed 11-member DECA Chapter at Montezuma High School recently competed in district competition on Nov. 20 at Simpson College where four students brought home top honors. Briar Simpson, middle back, earned 3rd place honors in Principles of Marketing while Alexa Rose and the team of Elizabeth DeJong, front middle, and Taylor Wilcox, back row, second from left, were named district finalists and recognized on stage with Honorable Mention honors.

​By J.O. Parker
 
     A new DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America) chapter at Montezuma is already showing momentum as four high school students recently brought home top honors at district competition at Simpson College on Nov. 20.
      Briar Simpson earned 3rd place honors in Principles of Marketing while Alexa Rose and the team of Elizabeth DeJong and Taylor Wilcox were named district finalists and recognized on stage with Honorable Mention honors.
     “We had a great experience at our first DECA competition as a school,” noted Kevin Gartman, DECA sponsor and business education teacher at Montezuma. “While there are many levels of competitions, including projects and papers, our students in our chapter are focused on the role play competitions. Students in role play competitions are given 10 minutes to analyze a case study that is new to them and prepare notes to handle a role play conversation with a judge.”
      The judge may be a boss, a new employee, an angry customer, or any other sort of role. Students are assessed on their ability to showcase business knowledge of designated standards as well as their ability to communicate clearly, think critically, and answer questions from the judge.
      “These role play scores are combined with multiple choice test scores to create a total competition scored, to which they are compared against their peers,” Gartman said.
       The Montezuma DECA Chapter has 11 members.
      Schools joining Montezuma at district competition were ACGC, ADM, Bondurant-Farrar, Carlisle, Colfax-Mingo, Council Bluffs Abraham Lincoln, Dallas Center-Grimes, Newton, PCM, Southeast Polk, Urbandale, and WDM Valley.
    “Students have grown so much in their critical thinking and self-confidence in this last month of preparation,” said Gartman. “I can’t wait to watch our kids grow from today to mid-February, while hoping to add some more students to the mix before state competition.”
        All students will compete at the DECA State Competition on Feb. 16 at Southeast Polk High School followed by results and conference sessions at the FFA Enrichment Center in Ankeny on Feb. 17.

       The team of Elizabeth DeJong and Taylor Wilcox, left, were named district finalists and recognized on stage with Honorable Mention honors in the Hospitality Services Team Decision Making competition. Middle, Alexa Rose received honorable mention honors for participating in the Principles of Entrepreneurship competition. Right, Briar Simpson earned 3rd place honors in Principles of Marketing competition at districts.

By J.O. Parker
 
       The Iowa Department of Education recently announced that a Montezuma High School teacher is one of nine first-ever Iowa Regional Teachers of the Year nominees to be selected from across the state of Iowa.
       Kevin Gartman, who teaches business courses to high school and middle school students at Montezuma, said it’s an honor to be nominated. He said the award is a whole lot more about the Montezuma district than it is about him.
     “After all, I've taught at Montezuma for all nine years of my teaching career and I am certainly not the same teacher now that I was when I began teaching,” noted Gartman. “I've learned about classroom management, improving rigor, student relationships, time management and organization, student motivation and drive through competitions, and more - all of which I've taken bits and pieces from my entire staff.”
      Gartman said he gets to witness teachers doing a great job around him each and every day at Montezuma, and that he gets to pick their brains and learn from them.
       “I try to incorporate more of what they're doing well into my classroom,” he said. “It's not about me – this honor is a reflection on our staff as a whole.”
     The Iowa Regional Teacher of the Year designation was establish this year by the Iowa Department of Education to celebrate excellence in the classroom from all corners of Iowa.
      “We recognize the expertise, commitment and care of each of Iowa’s inaugural 2025 Regional Teachers of the Year, and we thank them for choosing this honored profession, putting students at the center of all they do,” said Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow.
   From nominations submitted by educators, students, families and fellow Iowans, Kevin Gartman, Montezuma; Susie Stark, Cedar Rapids; Samantha Freeman, Mount Pleasant; Sarah Stephens, Creston; Blake Hammond, Des Moines; Alyssa Dalsing, Western Dubuque; Kaitlin Mahoney, Bettendorf; Beth Oolman, MOC-Floyd Valley; and Melanie Bloom, Sioux Central have been selected as Iowa’s 2025 Regional Teachers of the Year. Each of these teachers will now serve as finalists for the 2025 Iowa Teacher of the Year award, which will be announced later this year. 
      “With the support of educators across Iowa, we had the privilege of selecting nine teachers representing different grades and subjects, including elementary special education, middle school science and high school personal finance teachers among many other incredible educators,” said Snow.
      Gartman specializes in teaching personal finance. He holds a business education degree and a Master’s degree in educational leadership from the University of Northern Iowa. 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 cross country and track. He is a leader in personal finance, having presented on how to teach personal finance concepts at the local, state and regional levels.
     “I've been passionate about teaching financial literacy ever since coming to Montezuma and I've been thankful for an administration that has supported me and has allowed me to teach three levels of personal finance, start competition teams surrounding personal finance, and the community has become more engaged as a result,” Garman said. “With the state's focus on career and technical education, student success beyond graduation, and personal finance, it just so happens that the things that our district has been high-performing in and ahead of the curve on, also happen to be state focus areas now as well.”
     “It all comes back to the students - I have students who work hard and are driven to be their best,” Gartman went on to say. “I am so thankful for the chance to teach and coach the students and athletes (at Montezuma) that I do.”
About Iowa Teacher of the Year
      Established in 1958, the prestigious Teacher of the Year award recognizes an Iowa teacher who advances student learning through evidence-based instruction, empowers students with multiple pathways to postsecondary success, learns from and invests in fellow educators and serves students in partnership with families. Last year, Ann Mincks, an English Language Learner educator from Des Moines Public Schools’ Herbert Hoover High School, was named as the 2024 Iowa Teacher of the Year. The Iowa Teacher of the Year serves as an ambassador for the Iowa Department of Education and a representative of and liaison for all Iowa educators.
     More information about the Regional Teachers of the Year and the Iowa Teacher of the Year process is available on the Iowa Department of Education website at https://educate.iowa.gov/pk-12/award-exchange-programs/iowa-teacher-year

       Montezuma students cross their hearts during the Pledge of allegiance during the annual Veterans Day Service at the school on Monday, Nov. 11.

       There was a nice turnout for the Montezuma Community Development BINGO event at the Memorial Hall on Sunday, Nov. 3. Area businesses donated items for prizes to the winners. The afternoon fun featured various games of Bingo from traditional to blackout.