Requested Action: DIBELS Next Assessment Materials and Training

Please also find the following memo in pdf form available for download here.

To: Heartland Area Curriculum Coordinators and Principals
From: David Tilly, Director Innovation and Accountability
Sharon Kurns, Director Professional Learning and Leadership
RE: DIBELS Next Assessment Materials and Training

We are writing to update you about the distribution and training of Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills Next (DIBELS Next) assessment materials for the 2010-2011 school year. Heartland will again provide assessment materials and access to the DIBELS Data System website at no cost to your district. DIBELS assesses literacy skills and assists teachers and literacy teams in identifying those students who may be in need of additional instruction. DIBELS is available for students in Kindergarten through 6th grade. DIBELS is most effectively used within a school-wide system where all students are assessed at least three times per year and the data are used to plan for the instructional needs of all students.

We have been anticipating changes to the DIBELS materials for several years and are pleased to tell you that the revised materials for DIBELS Next will be available for the 2010-2011 school year. They will not be available for download until May 17, therefore we will not begin filling orders until after that time. Our intent is to have all orders delivered to schools by the beginning of next school year. This will ensure all schools have the materials they need in order to gather data in the fall.

The assessment materials and procedures have been revised; therefore it will be necessary for teachers and others who will administrator the assessments to receive training. Because of this, you may want to schedule your fall benchmarking day a bit later than usual so that you can ensure that this training occurs. There will be many options for training including webinars and other electronic means of obtaining the training at a time that fits your schedule. Specific information about training will be provided through the Heartland Administrator Connection in coming weeks.

Click here for an order form for DIBELS Next student assessment booklets. Please complete this order form indicating the number of booklets per grade level you anticipate needing for the 2010-2011 school year. A master copy of Stimulus Books and Administrative will be provided with each order. You may then reproduce the number you need for your building. Be sure to indicate the building contact person who should receive the order. All order forms and future requests for DIBELS assessment booklets should be sent to Teri Hazen at the Johnston Office. Please return the form by May 30, 2010.

Questions regarding administration and scoring, training and/or use of the DIBELS Data System website can be directed to Kristin Orton at (515) 270-0405, extension 14673, or to your Partnership Director. Questions regarding materials may be directed to Teri Hazen at (515) 270-0405, extension 14465.

Additional IEC Rebate Checks to be distributed at May 4 HAA Meeting

Recently, the Iowa Educators’ Consortium (IEC), along with Martin Brothers Distributing Co., received rebate funds for providing post-sale information to a company called Healthcare Foodservice Sourcing Advantage (HFSA). HFSA is a purchasing organization that provides rebates from manufacturers in exchange for allowing them to see where products are sold. The IEC is passing every penny of the received rebate funds directly to Iowa schools.

During the next Heartland Administrator Association Meeting on May 4, all Heartland area school districts that buy food through the IEC will receive an additional rebate check. The amount of the check is prorated according to your 2009-10 foodservice purchases and will not affect your year-end rebate (which you will receive in September). Those not attending the HAA meeting will receive their checks in the mail.

Superintendents: May HAA Meeting

Click here for a Word doc and here for a pdf download of the May Heartland Administrators Association meeting agenda. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 4. Please remember that this month's meeting will take place in Rooms 3 & 4 of the Heartland AEA Johnston office.

Curriculum Network: May 7 Curriculum Network Meeting

The Curriculum Network will meet on Friday, May 7 at 8:30 a.m. in the Heartland AEA Johnston office building. The focus for the meeting will be Iowa Core Implementation Plans. During the morning session, participants will have an opportunity to participate in a peer review process to give and receive suggestions and feedback on two of the outcomes. An afternoon session will also be available for those who would like to continue the process on other outcomes or the plan as a whole. The computer lab will also be open during the day. The agenda and handouts can be downloaded from the May agenda wiki at http://curriculumnet.pbworks.com/May-2010-Agenda.

District Administrators Survey to launch May 4

Heartland AEA will be collecting data from district administrators to assist in agency planning and program improvement using an online survey this year. An invitation email will be sent to each school/district administrator in the Heartland area on Tuesday, May 4, 2010. We send this survey each spring to school administrators to evaluate Heartland's successes and areas for improvement. Thank you in advance for your participation in our continuous improvement efforts.

Iowa Core Effective Instruction Summer Institute

There are still openings to attend the June 15-17 Effective Instruction Institute which will be held at Johnston High School. You can download a flyer on the conference here. The institute will focus on the five characteristics of effective instruction with featured presentations by the following:

• Sarah Brown Wessling, recently named National Teacher of the Year by President Obama
• Troyce Fisher, Director of a Leadership Grant at School Administrators of Iowa (Wallace Foundation)
• Margaret Heritage, Assistant Director for Professional Development at the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing (CRESST) at UCLA
• Bridgette Wagoner, Director of Price Lab School at UNI

To register, go to the Professional development course catalog on the Heartland AEA website at https://prodev.aea11.k12.ia.us/4DCGI/YYYYYYYYYYYYYYSRCH.
Activity Number: IS013932311101

Site Visit Preparation for K-12 School Counseling Programs

Is your K-12 School Counseling Program ready for a site visit? Join Julie Melcher, School Improvement Consultant from the Department of Education, and Susen Schirmer of Heartland AEA for a morning workshop in preparing your K-12 School Counseling program for your DE Site Visit for 2010-11. The workshop will be held on September 1, 2010 in the Heartland AEA Johnston office.

To register, go to the Professional development course catalog on the Heartland AEA website at https://prodev.aea11.k12.ia.us/4DCGI/YYYYYYYYYYYYYYSRCH.
Activity Number: CN005292111101

Still Time to Sign Up for Allan Odden Budget Workshop

There’s still time to sign up for this opportunity to attend a hands-on budgeting workshop with Dr. Odden, professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Wisconsin, and co-director of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education–Wisconsin Center for Education Research. He is a nationally recognized expert in resource allocation and fiscal policy.

Dr. Odden will help workshop participants think through the most effective resource allocation strategies for increasing student achievement. Participants will be able to interact with each other and across districts, be able to use their own data to “model” most effective and efficient resource allocation decisions and will provide input into next steps they need for ongoing support. The workshop will be a practical, no-nonsense day that will leave people more equipped to make intelligent resource allocation decisions.

The event will be held at the West Des Moines Sheraton May 12, 2010, for 1A to 3A districts and May 13, 2010, for 4A districts. Click here for the workshop flyer. Online registration is available at http://www.sai-iowa.org/stayfocused/.

Please consider attending this informative workshop.

Effective Instruction Institute—Iowa Core Curriculum

Join other teachers and administrators June 15-17 to investigate and dialogue about the Iowa Core characteristics of effective instruction through featured speaker presentations; small group exploration of sample units, videos and informational briefs; and district debriefing and planning sessions. Click here for more information. The Activity Number for registration is IS013932311101. You can register online by clicking here.

Featured speakers will include:
Margaret Heritage—Assistant Director for Professional Development at the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing (CRESST) at UCLA
Bridgette Wagoner—Director of Price Lab School at UNI
Troyce Fisher—Leadership Grant Director at School Administrators of Iowa (Wallace Foundation)
Sarah Wessling—Johnston HS teacher and 2010 Iowa Teacher of the Year

Spring Title I Meeting Coming in May

The Iowa Department of Education will be holding its annual Spring Title I meeting in AEA 11 on May 14 from 9:00-11:30 a.m. at the Johnston AEA Office. The Activity Number for registration is RE011792111001. You can register online by clicking here.

Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program Application Update

From Penny Milburn, Early Childhood Consultant, Iowa Department of Education

Kevin Fangman, acting director of the Iowa Department of Education, requested that I clarify the Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program Application. Some districts may believe they do not have to apply for the Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program but will be able to count their four-year-old children in EASEIR for the October 2011 count. This is not the case under the current law. Only those districts that have applied and are approved will generate the preschool funding formula in future October counts.

The DE encourages all districts to apply this year, the final year. It is important for Iowa’s four-year olds to have access to quality preschool.

Crisis Planning Project at Heartland AEA

Crafting a crisis action plan in the midst of a crisis is not successful. Will your district be ready when disaster strikes? The Crisis Planning Project at Heartland AEA is an opportunity for schools to review their current plans with an eye on refinement and inclusion of current issues and best practice. Click here for information about this 2010-11 professional development opportunity.

Children’s Mental Health Resources Guide Available From NAMI

NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Iowa has a children’s mental health resource guide available for anyone who may be interested in children’s mental health issues. The book can be picked up free at NAMI Iowa or they will mail copies if recipients pay postage. Click here for more information.

Honoring Judy Jeffrey as She Retires

We all know Judy Jeffrey is retiring the first of May. As she begins this new phase of her life, we have been told that Judy will once again take on a challenge of making a difference. This summer she plans to assist women who suffer from breast cancer by participating in a 60 mile walk in 3 days—that’s 20 miles each day. If you are interested in honoring Judy as she retires, consider making a pledge to this important event in Judy’s life. Click on the website below to make your pledge.

1. http://www.the3day.org/site/TR
2. On the right side of the website click on donate to a participant.
3. Search by placing in the name Judy Jeffrey then click Search.
4. Click on the name Judy Jeffrey.
5. On the left side of the website click on ‘Click to donate to Judy in 2010.’

Contribute the amount you wish to give in helping Judy reach her goal.
Please feel free to send this e-mail on to others. If you have questions, please call or email:
Mary Petersen
mpetersen@aea11.k12.ia.us
(515) 224-4722

Beverly Riess
beverly.riess@uni.edu
(515) 988-4157

A retirement reception will be held to honor Judy on April 30 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. in the State Board Room. Click here for more information.

2010-2011 Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program Application

The Iowa Department of Educations has posted the revised 2010-2011 Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program for Four-Year-Old Children Application and the revised 2010-2011 Technical Assistance Guidance Manual at http://www.iowa.gov/educate/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=940&Itemid=1279. The revised 2010-2011 application must be used in applying for funding in year 4 (2010-2011). Districts seeking to participate in the Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program must apply this year.

Please note these important dates:
· Application ICN broadcast April 21 from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m., and April 22, from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m.
· Application due May 14, 2010

The DE will conduct two ICN sessions addressing the application and program requirements. The sessions will be Wednesday, April 21, 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. with identical content Thursday, April 22 from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. To register for this session, click on the link provided. Read through the description of the event, then click on "register here" and follow the step-by-step instructions at this link http://www.iptv.org/iowa_database/event-detail.cfm?ID=10463. You are welcome to request any room in Iowa. Watch your inbox for a confirmation/denial email. If you are denied, IPTV is happy to help you find a room that will work. Registration closes Monday, April 19 at 4:30 p.m.

The Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program for Four-Year-Old Children Grant Application awards will be based on the 2011 legislative appropriation. Additional application requirements may be included if legislatively mandated. Please direct questions to Judy Russell at Judy.Russell@iowa.gov or Penny Milburn at Penny.Milburn@iowa.gov.

Discover Reading Recovery at Heartland AEA

Reading Recovery is a highly effective short-term intervention of one-to-one instruction for the lowest-achieving first graders. Individual students receive a half-hour lesson each school day for 12 to 20 weeks with a specially trained Reading Recovery teacher.

Reading Recovery is not a packaged program for purchase. It is not scripted or based on a single-factor solution. Instead, Reading Recovery is an investment in professional development for teachers who then design individual lessons for the lowest literacy achievers.

Reading Recovery’s one-to-one instruction delivers measurable results in weeks not years. Click here to see the Heartland Reading Recovery Site Report.

For information on this shared-cost initiative click here.

To enroll a teacher in the Reading Recovery training, contact Sue Hayes at shayes@aea11.k12.ia.us by June 11, 2010.

Holocaust Workshop for Teachers

Click here for more information on a teacher workshop that explores the Holocaust with a special focus on liberation and aftermath, including the displaced persons camps, the creation of Israel and the Nuremberg Trials. Eyewitness accounts will bring the liberation of the camps alive and put a human face on the difficulty of life in the DP camps.

Following the workshop, participants are invited to engage in a week of primary research in the archives of the Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum for the purpose of researching and developing a lesson plan or project, richly integrated with primary source material.

The workshop is presented by the Eisenhower Presidential Library & Museum, Abilene, Kansas and the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education, Overland Park, Kansas, in partnership with the Lowell Milken Center, Fort Scott, Kansas and the Harry S. Truman Library & Museum, Independence, Missouri.

Registration cost is $100. The deadline for enrollment is May 7, 2010. Enrollment is limited to the first 35 persons who apply. Up to six hours of graduate credit is available for participants who are interested.

Questions can be directed to Kim Barbieri at kim.barbieri@nara.gov.

Requested Item: Your Assistance is Needed!

The Heartland AEA Communications Department is involved in a video project with the purpose of gathering Iowa high school student perspectives on education and would appreciate your assistance. This project includes the Wallace Foundation, Iowa Department of Education, Iowa State Education Association, Iowa Association of School Boards, School Administrators of Iowa and Iowa's Area Education Agencies. These videos will be used to help us in marketing efforts about Iowa's education, the Iowa Core and will provide insight from students' perspectives.

We'd like to capture students' answers on video to the following questions:

1. What do you want to be when you graduate? Where do you see yourself in five years?
2. What’s your favorite class and why? What makes school interesting for you and why?
3. What ways could you be “plugged-in” when you’re at school?
4. What one word describes your school experience?

Students will be asked to share their first name and grade level; they will not identify their last name. Interviews will be done at the school building; however, the name of the school building/district will not be identified.

Additional help we need from you:

1. Select 2-3 students to be interviewed. (This can be done whenever it's convenient and is least intrusive for their schedules. It should take less than 10 minutes per student interview.)
2. Have a parent of participating students sign a release form found here.
3. Let us conduct the interview between now and April 20.

If this is something your district could assist with, we'd be very grateful. All interested districts may contact the Heartland Communications Department at comms@aea11.k12.ia.us.

Thanks for your consideration!

Summer 2010 Paraeducator Generalist Certificate Program

Heartland AEA is an approved provider of the Paraeducator Generalist Certificate Program. Click here for information on our Summer 2010 courses.

Superintendents: April HAA Minutes

Click here for the minutes from the April Heartland Administrators Association meeting. Also available is Julie Melcher's handout located here. The minutes and handouts are also posted on Heartland's Web site at http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/leaders/ldr/admin.html.

The last HAA meeting for this academic year will be on May 4. Please remember that the May HAA meeting will take place in Rooms 3 & 4 of the Heartland AEA Johnston office.

Superintendents: April HAA Meeting Agenda

Click here for the the Heartland Administrators Association meeting agenda. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 6 at the West Des Moines Learning Resource Center from 9:00-11:50 a.m.

Iowa Department of Education Guidance for 2010-2011 CTE Courses

School districts and community colleges have requested support from the Iowa Department of Education to make fair proficiency determinations for students who were not proficient on the Iowa Tests of Basics Skills (ITBS) or the Iowa Tests of Education Development (ITED). Click here for the letter of guidance that is being issued to help school districts facilitate enrollment for students in career and technical education courses for the 2010-2011 academic year.

If you have any questions about the guidance, please contact Jeremy Varner at (515) 281-3542 or Jeremy.Varner@iowa.gov.

Microsoft Office 2010 Upgrade Offer

Students, faculty and staff who purchase a qualifying Office 2007 product between March 5 and September 30 can upgrade to Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010 for a nominal fee. The software must be purchased through the Iowa Educators Consortium (IEC) agreement with JourneyED at http://www.journeyed.com/select. Individuals will be able to use their existing license of Office 2007 to upgrade for the additional price of $9.98 for ESD, $14.98 for physical media.

When Office 2010 is available for upgrade, all qualifying purchasers, including schools, will be notified via e-mail by JourneyEd. At that time, additional detailed instructions will be provided as to how to redeem the upgrade. Why the offer? Microsoft would like to enable graduating students to acquire the rights to their latest version of Office at a special price while they are still eligible.

AEA Customer Satisfaction Survey to close April 9

We can’t stress enough how important this survey is to help us improve our services. The more feedback we receive, the more comfortable we will feel making program decisions that benefit all schools in the Heartland region. Please encourage all of your staff to participate. Thank you very much for all who have already participated!

The survey can be accessed at http://survey.aea267.k12.ia.us/survey/5558/1299/.