Celebrating Iowa’s History Teacher of the Year Jessica Dowell

It’s been a big year for Johnston Community School District’s Jessica Dowell. As the 2025 Iowa History Teacher of the Year, Dowell has been immersed in a year of celebration, continued growth—and opportunities to finally shed those false claims of imposter syndrome.  

“It was a complete shock when I was announced as the Iowa History Teacher of the Year,” Dowell said. “I think a lot of the time teachers suffer from imposter syndrome, constantly thinking that they are not actually that good at their job or as effective as they would like to be. Seeing that email notification was a great surprise.”

Dowell, a 19-year veteran educator at Johnston High School, was nominated by a former student for the Iowa History Teacher of the Year award, which honors K-12 teachers who demonstrate a commitment to teaching American history in creative ways. As the Iowa History Teacher of the Year, Dowell was one of 53 finalists for the National History Teacher of the Year award and received a $1,000 prize from the Gilder Lehrman Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the teaching and learning of American history. Through Gilder Lehrman, Dowell also received classroom resources and an opportunity to participate in a learning seminar this summer with other top educators from across the nation.

“Jessica is an outstanding representative for history and social studies teachers in our state and is a well-deserving choice for the Iowa History Teacher of the Year award,” said Stefanie Rosenberg Wager, administrative consultant for the Iowa Department of Education. “Through her engaging instruction and commitment to high-quality education, her students are gaining insight into the past as well as the future, helping to shape key critical thinking and analytical skills.”

Dowell has taught various social studies classes over her career, including world history, American government and economics, and currently teaches AP U.S. history and general U.S. history, which she stresses are vital for today’s students.

“History and social studies are currently critical topics for students,” she said. “The world is changing so rapidly, with information coming at them from literally every direction and platform. I look at history and social studies as a way to help students gain practices with thinking skills like cause and effect. We’re just using the guardrails of history to practice.”

Along with her designation as the Iowa History Teacher of the Year, Dowell is also a 2019 awardee of the James Madison Foundation Fellowship, which covers the tuition for pursuing a Master’s degree in America history or related field. With her experience, Dowell believes successful history teachers have several key ingredients to them, such as a desire to work closely with kids and nurturing their progress and success.

“To be a successful history teacher, you have to be able to acknowledge there are things that you do not know,” Dowell said. “It shows students that not only is it ok to not know everything, but it also allows for opportunities to model how to find new information using high-quality, reliable sources.”

Dowell is not just a teacher but is also a busy mom to Tyson, Finn and Isla Kate and wife to fellow Johnston High School AP psychology teacher Jesse. She understands how much a career and family can take up an educator’s day but encourages any new or experienced social studies teacher to make time to stay curious, continue to learn and be a critical consumer of information.

“Consume news and current events information, seek out reputable sources that can help you provide historical context for current events and find primary sources that verify and support various viewpoints,” she said. “All of this work helps to create a deeper understanding of the historical context you are teaching, which allows you to help students develop those skills and make connections of their own.”

Dowell will be officially celebrated as the 2025 Iowa History Teacher of the Year alongside the 2026 Iowa Teacher of the Year, 2026 Regional Teachers of the Year and 2026 Iowa STEM Teacher Award recipients at an upcoming spring luncheon hosted by Governor Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow. The Department congratulates Dowell for her achievements and advancement of history instruction in Iowa.