Superintendents: December HAA Meeting Agenda

Click here for the agenda of the Heartland Administrators' Association (HAA) meeting which will be held on Tuesday, December 1 at the West Des Moines Learning Resource Center from 9:00-11:50 a.m.

Holiday Office & Van Route Schedule

All Heartland AEA offices will be closed on November 26 and 27, December 24, 25 and 31 and January 1. Also, please take note of the following schedule as you plan to send and receive items through our van mail.

• November 25-27 2009 No Van Delivery
  
• December 21-22, 2009 Regular Van Delivery
• December 23-31 2009 & January 1, 2010 No Van Delivery
  
• January 4, 2010 Regular Van Delivery Resumes

News from the Heartland AEA Iowa Core Curriculum Team

Registration information for January/February and for April Iowa Core Curriculum Leadership Training, Year Two, is available on the Heartland Iowa Core Curriculum link on the Heartland Web site at http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/ICC. Registration is a must to ensure sufficient space and materials will be available.

Below are responses to your most recently submitted questions.

Question: Implementation plan---How far out should districts project? 1 year? multiple years?
Answer: Every outcome, for every content area at each grade span, needs to be addressed in the implementation plan by the legislative deadlines. Districts/schools need to establish the timeline for implementing all the actions of their plans and that timeline will vary from one year to several years in the future, based on district/school priorities and needs.

Question: How is the implementation plan going to affect teaching and learning?
Answer: It is the actions a district/school outlines in its implementation plan that will address the expectations of all six outcomes. If districts/schools develop an implementation plan based on the results of their self-studies, their work is likely to be connected to classroom practices through outcomes 4 and 6 in particular. These actions will impact teaching and learning.

Read more questions and answers at http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/ICC. Additional questions may be addressed to Linda S. Biermann Hoobin, Heartland AEA Teaching and Learning Consultant for the Iowa Core Curriculum, at lhoobin@aea11.k12.ia.us

Iowa School Climate Survey Now Available

The 2009 Iowa School Climate Survey is now available. This biennial survey from the Iowa Pride Network measures the levels of racism, homophobia and sexism in Iowa schools. The 2009 survey is the first since the legislature passed the 2007 Iowa Safe Schools Law. Click here if you are interested in reading the results of the survey.

Headcount Still Needed for ICLC Participants

Please send the number of participants you will be registering for the Iowa Culture and Language Conference (ICLC) and Pre-conference to Pat Latham at platham@aea11.k12.ia.us by Tuesday, November 30, 2009. For more information on the ICLC and on how to get reimbursement for attending, click here.