Appointed to be the new director of the Iowa Department of Education by Gov.-elect Terry Branstad (R), Jason Glass is a former teacher and school administrator. In Eagle County, Colo., where he was human resources director, he helped bridge divides when the school system set up a merit pay plan for teachers, the Des Moines Register reports. He now wants to bring that experience to bear on how teachers in Iowa are evaluated and paid.

Overall, he says, he wants to “allow for greater innovation in schools.... That happens by not imposing greater central control on schools, but actually freeing up local school districts to try new things,” he told the Register.