Heartland AEA Plans for Regional Education Centers & School Co-location

You may have heard about Heartland’s plans for Regional Education Centers (RECs) and co-location opportunities from your Heartland partnership director, so we’d like to provide you with some updated information on these important facility plans.

The Agency is in the process of implementing an REC model to improve service delivery to our school districts and to utilize our financial resources more effectively. RECs support the Agency’s transformation to provide services in the regions, close to those served by Heartland, as well as to increase the proportion of agency space dedicated to teaching and learning. Each regional center will reflect the unique needs and characteristics of the area served. In addition, the Agency is exploring co-location opportunities within schools to increase efficiencies relating to staff service delivery.

Phase I
During the 2007-2008 school year, the Heartland Board of Directors approved the Agency’s plan for five RECs (Johnston, Adel, Newton, Ames and the West side of the Agency).

The Phase I REC Planning Committee, which represented multiple stakeholders, developed a recommendation for the design and programming of all regional education centers. This effort was lead by Sheila King and Sharon Kurns. The work of the group considered current and future needs, the impact of agency initiatives, feedback from district staff, technology, options for partnerships, flexible spaces and file storage. It was noted that all RECs should have professional development classroom space, offices, storage space and professional resources/materials.

Phase II
On March 1, 2009, the REC committee (RECC) provided its Phase I report with recommendations to the Executive Council. The report cited data sources, general recommendations, location-specific recommendations and proposed timelines. Executive Council approved the Phase I report, which serves as the source document for Phase II.

From April-August 2009, various REC committees/subcommittees and co-location subcommittees were formed to assess and analyze opportunities in Newton, Adel, Knoxville and Ankeny. Based on feedback from these subcommittees, revision of the original Phase II REC commissioning document was necessary to provide further guidance, especially regarding co-location opportunities. Phase II (revised) encompasses FY 2009-2010 planning and implementation of REC and co-location opportunities.

The revised REC and co-location timeline for FY 2009-2010 is the following:
· Newton REC – completion NLT (no later than) July 31, 2010
· Adel REC – prioritization moved to FY 2010-2011
· Johnston REC – completion NLT December 31, 2010
· Knoxville co-location – NLT June 30, 2010
· Ankeny co-location – NLT June 30, 2010

Implementation of the REC model and co-location concept is a complex task because of systemic ramifications. Facility re-location and/or reconfiguration impact financial and staffing resources, service delivery and distribution systems.

Co-location opportunities will be important as Heartland moves forward with its goal to provide services closer to our districts and schools. As we move forward with these opportunities, your assistance in identifying potential locations and your input and suggestions will be appreciated. Next steps will be to continue regular updates to stakeholders, implement the revised timeline and plan for Phase III.

If you have any questions or comments about these plans, please contact Steve Prall, Heartland AEA Chief of Operations, at (800) 255-0405 ext. 14423 or at sprall@aea11.k12.ia.us.

Guidance from the DE on Collaborative and Consultative Models for Students in Special Education

We recently received information from Norma Lynch at the Department of Education that will be of interest to all schools, especially those anticipating site visits in the near future. Click here for a document that contains a description of inappropriate implementation of the collaborative and consultative teaching models for special education and general education teachers. These models will receive increased scrutiny during school improvement visits in 2009-10 in order to assess implementation of highly-qualified teacher legislation. The attached document provides a brief description of the models (with key characteristics), a list of inappropriate examples of implementation and some examples of answers to the focused school improvement questions that would be a signal to do more investigation. Please contact your Partnership Director if you have any further questions.

Iowa Core Curriculum Update: Completing the District/School Self-Study

During Leadership Training last school year, district/school teams received the Iowa Core Curriculum self-studies for outcomes 1, 2, 3 and 5. Outcome 4 will be available at the upcoming October Leadership Training Sessions. Outcome 6 will be available at a later date.

At Leadership Training, teams learned a process to complete the self-studies that allows for input from all involved. Each team determined their current status on each action for each of the outcomes. That information was transferred to a consensus rating form that will assist teams when it is time to write an implementation plan. A copy of each consensus rating form, when completed, should be sent to Linda Biermann Hoobin at the Johnston Office of Heartland or can be sent electronically to Linda at lhoobin@aea11.1k2.ia.us.

Currently available self-studies can be found on the Heartland Iowa Core Curriculum Web page located under the heading “Iowa Core Curriculum Resources by Topic”, then self-study and implementation planning.

There is still time to register for Iowa Core Curriculum Leadership Training Year Two, Day One. The October 5th session at Zion Lutheran Church is closed, but all others have space available. Find registration information on the Heartland Iowa Core Curriculum Web page.

Questions can be directed to Linda Biermann Hoobin, Teaching and Learning Consultant for the Iowa Core Curriculum at (515) 270-0405 ext. 14327 or at the email mentioned above.