Race to the Top Regional Meeting re-scheduled for January 11

Arctic blasts from this week remind us that winter schedules are subject to change when living in Iowa! As was mentioned earlier this week, the Regional Meeting on Iowa's Race to the Top (RTTT) application has been rescheduled for Monday, January 11. As originally planned, there will be a technical assistance workshop for superintendents from 4:30-5:45 p.m. A joint meeting will follow for superintendents, school board presidents and teachers association presidents which will be held from 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Locations for the RTTT meeting have been changed to what was originally reserved. New locations are the following and can be verified on the Iowa DE Web site.

Origination Site:
Iowa Department of Education, 400 East 14th Street, Grimes State Office Building, Des Moines

ICN Satellite Sites in our area:
Des Moines Area Community College - Newton Campus - 1
600 North 2nd Avenue W
Room Number: 128
Room Location: Polytechnic Campus
Newton

Guthrie Center High School
906 School Street
Room Number: 101
Guthrie Center

Iowa Public Television - 1
6450 Corporate Drive
Room Location: McElroy Room
Johnston

Kuemper High School
109 S Clark
Room Number: 175
Carroll

Madrid High School
599 N Kennedy
Room Number: 115
Madrid

Ogden High School
732 West Division Street
Room Number: 109
Ogden

There are other opportunities for superintendents, teachers’ association presidents and school board presidents to learn about Iowa's Race to the Top plans and ask questions.

Video: A regional meeting presented earlier this week by Iowa Department of Education Director Judy Jeffrey was recorded and is available at www.iowa.gov/educate.

Conference Calls: Three conference calls for superintendents, teachers’ association presidents and school board presidents are scheduled for Monday, January 11. You may call in during any of the following times to ask questions: 8:30–9:30 a.m., 12:00–1:00 p.m., 4:30–5:30 p.m. You may join any of the calls by dialing 877-366-0711, and enter pass code 959 02 110#.

Two conference calls have been set up for Wednesday, January 13 for superintendents, teachers’ association presidents, and school board presidents. You may call in during any of the following times to ask questions: 9:00-10:00 a.m., 3:00-4:00 p.m. You may join any of the calls by dialing 877-366-0711, and enter pass code 959 02 110#.

Documents: The PowerPoint, State Plan Highlights and MOU for Iowa School Districts documents are also available for your review and downloading at www.iowa.gov/educate.

Questions and concerns about Iowa's Race to the Top application can be directed to RacetotheTop@iowa.gov.

Superintendents: January HAA Minutes Now Available

Click here for the minutes from the January Heartland Administrators Association meeting. The next meeting will be February 2 at the West Des Moines Learning Center.

Accessible Instructional Materials (AIM) Reminder

If your school needs textbooks and core related instructional materials in an accessible format (Braille, large print, audio or digital text) for a student at the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year, now is the time to make your needs known to the Iowa Department for the Blind. Please notify the department by February, 2010 so they will have plenty of time to search for the materials requested. You may search for student resources and textbooks at http://www.idbonline.org/library/student-resources or http://www.idbonline.org/form/imc. Please visit the Trueaim Web site for updated information on AIM at http://trueaim.iowa.gov/.

Herbert Hoover Uncommon Student Award

The Herbert Hoover Uncommon Student Award is a $5,000 scholarship program for Iowa high school juniors. The program annually identifies and honors up to 15 Iowa high school juniors who propose and then accomplish a project of their own choosing and design. Grades, test scores, essays and financial need are not evaluated.

Applicants propose a project they want to accomplish then approximately 15 juniors are chosen in April to complete their projects. In the fall of their senior year they present their projects at the Hoover Presidential Library-Museum in West Branch, near Iowa City. Each student receives a $1,000 stipend and three are chosen to win $5,000 scholarships for a two or four year school anywhere in the nation.

Application Note: Students chosen for the next Hoover Uncommon Student Class are required to be in West Branch, Iowa on Saturday and Sunday, June 12-13, 2010 and on Saturday, October 9, 2010.

To apply, students must be juniors in an Iowa high school or home schooled program in the spring of 2010, with a high school graduation date of spring, 2011.

For more information, visit www.hooverassociation.org, or contact Patricia Hand at (800) 828-0475. The application postmark deadline is March 31, 2010.