A new Marshalltown High School instructional program has received a $250,000 donation.

F&G Annuities & Life in Des Moines has given the money to Junior Achievement of Central Iowa for 3DE to be incorporated into the Marshalltown Community School District (MCSD), becoming the first district in the region to offer the program. 3DE is a high school instructional model used to connect students with real world complexities. Utilizing corporate partners, it gives youth the ability to develop skills such as creativity, critical thinking and problem-solving.

The money will be used to underwrite the launch-year cost. The costs include dedicated staffing at the school, training, curriculum design and development, teacher certification and business partner recruitment.

F&G Head of Human Resources Amanda Wuest said part of the mission of F&G is to turn aspirations into reality, which is what the Junior Achievement 3DE does by providing students with real-world experiences.

“3DE will expose students to a variety of career paths such as insurance, and F&G is proud to help kickstart this program to inspire and guide future talent,” Wuest said.

MCSD Director of Instruction Shauna Smith described the donation as “lofty.”

“I feel like it has expedited our ability to put 3DE in place in Marshalltown,” she said. “It speaks to the incredible atmosphere we have, and the faith that our community supports 3DE or any movement we make as a school district. There’s a lot of great benefits our students are going to see out of that $250,000 donation. We’re willing to do anything we can to make sure it’s successful.”

Junior Achievement of Central Iowa President Ryan Osborn said Marshalltown was chosen as the first 3DE district in the region because of the partnership and longstanding relationship.

“Currently, all students K-8 in Marshalltown have Junior Achievement, so it was natural to add on this culminating high school experience,” he said.

Depending on the class size, Smith said 125 to 130, or one-third, of the incoming 2025-26 freshmen will participate in the program, and will be able to remain in 3DE through their senior year.

To get the word out, the district hosted a Gear-Up Night at Miller Middle School, during which 3DE was presented and explained to students.

“If students knew about it, they smiled and said, ‘Oh yeah. I want to do this,'” she said. “If they didn’t, they asked questions. Usually by the time we explained the active learning environment, they were smiling and saying they wanted to be part of it.”

There is still room for students to get involved. Students who are interested should contact Marshalltown High School Counselor Lydia Arevalo at larevalo@marshalltown.k12.ia.us. There is no requirement or restriction to participation. Smith said there should primarily be active interest from the student.

“I think the students in this program are really going to graduate high school and ready to hit the work force or ready for college,” she said.

Smith stressed there is no cost for participation. The most common question district officials have encountered was whether or not students or families had to pay for the opportunity.

“We really want our students and parents to know [it] is available and there is no fee or additional cost to be part of the program,” she said.

During the 2026-27 school year, another one-third of the freshmen class will get a chance to participate. Smith said if active 3DE students want to withdraw, they are free to do so, which will open the door for other freshmen. Students in higher grades will not be able to enter the program.

“We have heard from other districts who have implemented 3DE that there isn’t much of a problem of students wanting out of 3DE, but there is definitely a change of perspective of students who want in a semester and there are not enough spots,” Smith said.

Participating students will focus on critical thinking skills, communication and analytical thinking and be exposed to career pathways.

“Year after year, they will have an inside look at different industries and careers that could potentially draw their interest,” she said.

Utilizing partnerships with businesses is an important aspect of 3DE, and Smith said they are working to secure those partnerships. She added if any local businesses are interested in participating, they would be willing to entertain conversations.

“We are actively seeking those partnerships,” Smith said. “We have strong partnerships outside of 3DE, so we have a great faith we will find those partnerships. We’re not worried.”

She said the ideal businesses would be in industries that drive career interest.

“We have an opportunity to grow interest here in Marshalltown,” Smith said.

Facing a rapidly changing economy, Osborn hopes the program will give Marshalltown students greater economic opportunity and choice-filled lives.

“I also hope Marshalltown’s leadership as a 3DE school will help transform and modernize high school education in central Iowa,” he said.

With 3DE being so new to the area, Osborn said Junior Achievement will annually monitor several metrics such as student and teacher engagement, math and reading proficiencies, graduation rates, post-secondary enrollment, competency mastery and attitude shifts in self-efficacy.

Junior Achievement of Central Iowa will hire the necessary personnel to launch 3DE in Marshalltown. Smith believes there are two positions posted, one which will work with the 3DE teachers at the high school every day. There will be four core – math, literacy, social studies and science – teachers, an English language learning instructor, special education teacher and possibly more depending on the students who participate. She said there will also be one instructional coach who will support the content.

“The teachers will teach their content with 3DE layered on top,” Smith said. “They will be assigned to the 3DE students.”

Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 ext. 210 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.