Urgent Action: ARRA Part B Awards Reporting due September 28

This afternoon you received your Part B award through the State of Iowa ARRA Website accessed via the State’s Enterprise A&A system. Please review all pre-populated data to ensure it is accurate.

Heartland AEA sent an email earlier this morning to all area superintendents and district special education contacts stating that the deadline for Part B ARRA reporting to Heartland AEA is Monday, September 28 at NOON. Please note, this is the ARRA Quarterly Reporting, not the ARRA application which is still due October 2.

The Heartland ARRA Reporting Team will be located in the Johnston office Computer Lab from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Monday to assist any district on getting the reporting done. If you do not wish to travel to Johnston but still need assistance, you can reach members of the team via phone at (515) 270-9030 or (800) 362-2720 extension 14537. The team also will be available via their email addresses that are listed in the close of the email sent earlier today or by clicking here.

Training videos on ARRA quarterly reporting can be accessed under "Latest Update" on the DE's Web site for ARRA Stimulus Information. The link for the page is http://edtraining.iowa.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=7&Itemid=2.

Agenda for October Curriculum Network Meeting

The October Curriculum Network meeting will be held on October 2, 2009 at the Heartland AEA office at 6500 Corporate Drive. Click here for the agenda.

Juvenile Court Services to conduct Community Conversations

Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) and Juvenile Court Services will be conducting Community Conversations regarding insight into the reform and restructure of the group care process in Iowa. For the conversations to be worthwhile, they are inviting individuals who have had direct experiences with group care. Such individuals would already have an understanding of group care process (what it is and what it does) and/or specific suggestions to improve the process. You may be interested in the Community Conversation if you had a child in group care or direct experiences with children who have been in group care and would like to share feedback about reforming the system.

Click here for an information letter from the DHS. If your district is in Story County, please click here instead.

Iowa Council for the Social Studies Annual Conference

Social Studies educators are invited to attend the annual conference hosted by the Iowa Council for the Social Studies (ICSS) on October 12, 2009 at the West Des Moines Marriott Hotel in West Des Moines. This year’s theme is “Social Studies: The Core and So Much More.” To learn more and to register, go to http://www.uni.edu/icss/program2009.pdf

Read-Aloud and ELL Translations in World Book

World Book encyclopedia online databases (for elementary, secondary and reluctant readers) now have both read-aloud and text translation features to make information more accessible to all students. The articles, primary sources and e-books are translated into 13 languages: Arabic, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish. More info is at http://store.worldbook.com/wb/Assets/CPC/email/adv_diff/advdiff_announce_s.html.

Access World Book from the Heartland Home page under Resources & Research Tools at http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us. You can share the school username/password with parents so they can use this resource with their children. Ask your teacher librarian for assistance.

University of Iowa Offers Online Master's Credit Course

The University of Iowa has an online Master of Arts in Special Education Instructional Strategist I Mild and Moderate (K-6) – Level 1 & 2 program available for licensed Iowa teachers.

Requirements:

• Iowa Residency
• BA degree
• Elementary Certification in Iowa

Program:

• Attend classes online
• Access to an on-site Mentor
• Job-embedded class assignments

For more information please visit www.hawkeyedegree.com and click on “Information Request,” or go to http://www.education.uiowa.edu/distance_ed/degree_programs.html.