Ruth Ann Gaines
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Iowa State Representative Ruth Ann Gaines, District 32, has been an educator for 48 years. She began her career by earning her BA in speech and drama from Clark College, Dubuque, and her MA in dramatic art from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She then returned to Des Moines to teach drama at East High School and Des Moines Area Community College. She has taught high school drama for 40 years, community college speech and drama for 48 years, and graduate school education courses for 39 years. She developed the entire diversity program for educators at Heartland Area Education Agency in Johnston, Iowa. Her Celebrating Diversity courses have impacted the lives of students and teachers throughout Iowa. She has created fourteen diversity courses for teachers, and her classes are the ones that are recognized because of their relevance to student issues in the classroom.
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In 2002, she created a mentorship program called Sisters for Success that is for middle- and high-school African and African-American girls. The program is still in existence with the Des Moines Public Schools and serves as a model for schools throughout the state. Through the program, girls are assigned to mentors in the community, who give them the emotional guidance to become successful students. Research shows that members of Sisters for Success have decreased their school absenteeism, office referrals, and suspensions.
Representative Gaines’s work as an educator has also brought state and national recognition to Des Moines. She was a recipient of the Iowa Teacher of the Year award and was one of four finalists for the National Teacher of the Year award as well. Ruth Ann has served as State Representative since 2010. And, it’s no surprise, that for all four terms, she served on the education committee. She fully supports legislation that improves the quality of education in Iowa.
Representative Gaines’s work as an educator has also brought state and national recognition to Des Moines. She was a recipient of the Iowa Teacher of the Year award and was one of four finalists for the National Teacher of the Year award as well. Ruth Ann has served as State Representative since 2010. And, it’s no surprise, that for all four terms, she served on the education committee. She fully supports legislation that improves the quality of education in Iowa.