Bettendorf schools report stronger work-based learning outcomes as DCAP expands to fifth grade

Haley Hoyt, the district—s career readiness coordinator, told the Bettendorf Community School District board that state changes are pushing career and academic planning into younger grades and that the district has been preparing for the shift.

“This work, which was once for our eighth through twelfth grade students, actually needed to go down to fifth grade starting this year,” Hoyt said, describing the requirement tied to House File 316 and the district—s strategic plan. She said Bettendorf had already begun career-exploration work at the middle and high school levels and has rolled out support for elementary counselors as the requirement moved to fifth grade.

Hoyt walked the board through the DCAP—s eight components — assessments, career information, exploration, postsecondary planning, financial-aid awareness, four-year planning, work-based learning and team structure — and described how Bettendorf had expanded its DCAP leadership team to include administrators, CTE and non-CTE teachers, special-education representatives and counselors.

The district highlighted data changes tied to a vendor switch after problems with the prior career information system. Hoyt said the previous system crashed after a summer update and the team selected Cougar Navigator (Kuder) to restore assessment and profile functionality. With the new system she said the district can now pull individual student profiles and group participation data; she reported more than 2,100 middle- and high-school students had completed career interest assessments.

On statewide performance measures, Hoyt showed the district—s college-credit percentage declined slightly from 70.14 in 2024 to 68.95 in 2025 — changes she attributed to program adjustments and deliberate expansion of noncollege pathways. By contrast, Bettendorf—s work-based learning score rose from 17.63 in an earlier report year to 76.89 for 2025; Hoyt said the district is the highest-scoring school among similarly sized high schools in Iowa. She told the board part of the gain reflected re-coding classes to align with state reporting requirements, not a change in classroom practice.

The presentation emphasized student-facing activities employers and postsecondary partners requested: industry partnerships, internships, simulated work experiences aligned to industry-recognized credentials, and apprenticeships where state rules allow. Hoyt also outlined district efforts to increase FAFSA completion, including tailored communication, community college partnerships and on-campus family appointments that she said helped the district exceed a 50% FAFSA-completion target for seniors.

The board asked procedural and implementation questions; Hoyt said the district will continue to refine the data systems and expand elementary representation on the DCAP team now that the requirement covers fifth grade.

The district will return next year with progress updates and implementation details for the goals presented.