Johanna Ortiz-Cooper. Photo: Des Moines Public Schools Writer: Mary Boldinova For Johanna Ortiz-Cooper, moving from Texas to the Middle East proved far easier than relocating to Iowa. She had built a stable life in Houston — a master’s degree, a career as a bilingual educator, a husband, two son s — and had never considered moving overseas. Then she watched an episode of “House Hunters International” and saw a teacher do exactly that. “I didn’t know it was possible,” she recalled. The same night, she was applying for jobs abroad. Within a week, she had a job offer. Within a few months, her family was on a plane. What she imagined would be a long business trip before returning to Texas stretched into an international career in education. After the contract in the Middle East was up, Ortiz-Cooper spent another two years working in Mexico before landing at Chiang Rai International School in Thailand, where she served as head of school, similar to the role of a principal. The family never did move back to Texas. Instead, after 10 years abroad, they moved to Iowa. “My oldest son graduated from the international school in Thailand and chose Iowa State,” Ortiz-Cooper said. “We wanted to be there to support him, so we decided to move to Iowa. I had to file my resignation a year in advance, and I did in the summer of 2019, not expecting COVID. We ended up moving in the middle of the pandemic.” Now in her fifth year in Iowa, Ortiz- Cooper is pioneering a new role at Des Moines Public Schools. As senior director of special populations, she oversees 12,000 students. It’s a long way from Houston — and even farther from Thailand — but Ortiz-Cooper seems exactly where she’s supposed to be. Johanna Ortiz-Cooper’s international career in education has taken her from Texas to the Middle East, Mexico and Thailand. Now, she’s back stateside in her role at Des Moines Public Schools. We asked her a few questions about her new role and lightly edited her answers for length and clarity. Now a year in, how would you describe this position and what you do? It’s really a dual role: I work with both multilingual learners and special education. As our district grows more diverse, we have to think about how we address the needs of students who either learn differently or speak other languages. We’re shifting away from a one-size-fits-all approach because not all students learn the same way. We work to ensure students are in general education classes as much as possible, with whatever support they need, and we’re constantly meeting to talk about individual student needs and how to meet them. What might that support look like? It could be a teacher-associate, a different curriculum or extra time on assignments — it’s different for every student, which is why they have individual education plans, or IEPs. They’re very student-centered, and they’re not determined by one person but by a team: special education teachers, parents, psychologists, social workers. We document the supports in the IEP both for compliance and to make sure we’re doing what’s right for that specific child. It starts with getting the right people around the table and asking: What do we see? How can we help this student grow? What do people get wrong about special education? I wish people understood that these students are not defined by a label. This is very personal to me. My oldest son is on the spectrum. He is about to graduate from Iowa State and is studying for the MCAT to go to medical school. Even though he is a student with autism, he has been able to overcome all of those challenges. We never let that label define who he is. That’s a big part of my passion for this job, making sure these kids are learners first. Special education students have so much potential, and I wish more people recognized that. That’s a huge part of my job: ensuring that my students have the support they need in and out of the classroom to be successful. ...read more read less