Heartland Gifted & Talented Consultant to be Featured on IPR

Heartland AEA gifted and talented consultant Mary Schmidt will be a featured guest on the Iowa Public Radio show “The Exchange” on February 26 from noon to 1:00 p.m. The show is Iowa Public Radio’s talk program and focuses on news, issues and events occurring in Iowa. The topic of discussion for the February 26th show will be gifted education.

Mary has been a consultant at Heartland AEA since 2001 and brings 30 years of experience in education to her position. She holds a master’s degree in gifted education, is immediate past president of the Iowa Talented & Gifted Association, is a National Board Certified Teacher and was previously a secondary gifted & talented and language arts teacher.

“The Exchange” can be heard on stations in Ames/Des Moines, Carroll, Cedar Falls/Waterloo, Clear Lake/Mason City, Dubuque, Fort Dodge, Cedar Rapids/Iowa City, Lamoni, Ottumwa and the Quad Cities. See http://iowapublicradio.org/ for station information. Shows are also archived on IPR’s website and can be listened to at a later date.

Microsoft Cy Pres Settlement ICN Session

John O’Connell will present on March 17 and 18, 3:30-5:00 p.m. Microsoft eligible schools will want to learn more about:
• Examples of Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 evaluation results that will be provided participating schools.
• Teacher data report form and the principal walk through data report form.
• How student data are made available to the external evaluator for ITBS, MAP and IEOC test results.

http://www.iptv.org/iowa_database/event-detail.cfm?ID=10374

To register, click on the link provided. Read through the description of the event, then click on "register here" and follow the instructions. 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. The ICN session will be recorded and available from the Heartland AEA library.

ISDC & NSDC to Co-host One-day Workshop on Establishing School Culture

The Iowa Staff Development Council (ISDC), in conjunction with the National Staff Development Council (NSDC), is pleased to announce a one-day workshop with Dr. Ingrid Carney, "School Leaders and Their Role in Establishing School Culture and Narrowing Achievement Gaps". The workshop will be held Wednesday, March 17 at the Dubuque Community School District. This interactive workshop will provide participants with an overview of issues relevant to improving school culture to ensure that ALL children have opportunities to learn and achieve. Further, participants will learn about the 10 Boys Initiative to close achievement gaps, particularly boys of color.

For more information and registration, please go to the Iowa Staff Development Council's website at http://www.iasdc.org/ or contact Sue Schirmer at sschirmer@aea11.k12.ia.us.

Supporting Children of the Guard and Reserves Institutes

The Iowa National Guard Services Branch, in partnership with the Military Child Education Coalition, is pleased to announce registration for the Supporting Children of the Guard and Reserves Institutes on April 28-29, 2010 is now open. This two-day training is for educators, counselors, administrators and those working with (or soon to be working with) military youth and teens. Attendees will receive valuable information on strategies for working with military youth and teens, as well as resources available to support these individuals during all stages of the deployment cycle. The resources provided to attendees are quite extensive and would be valuable in building a professional reference library on supporting those in the military community.

The training and resources are available at no cost to the attendee(s); however, transportation and lodging expenses will be the responsibility of the attendee(s). Further, one graduate credit is available for this training (at the expense of the attendee) through Texas A&M, with CEUs also available. The training will take place at Camp Dodge in Johnston, Iowa.

Click here for the registration form. Please note registration is limited, so please sign-up as soon as possible to be guaranteed a spot. You may also register online by clicking the following link:
http://www.militarychild.org/education/guard-and-reserve-institutes/

Questions can be directed to Jeremy Vanwyk at (515) 252-4040 or jeremy.vanwyk@us.army.mil.

Two Million Minutes: A Global Examination

A short trailer for the 54-minute documentary video "2 Million Minutes" is on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZnSG6gg1vs&feature=player_embedded. There are approximately 2,000,000 minutes from 8th grade to graduation. How students spend their two million minutes (studying, playing sports, attending school, working, socializing, etc.) is examined in several high schools in China, India and the United States. This is an excellent resource for discussions with staff, community and the school board. The trailer is online. The full video is available for checkout from the Heartland professional library, #255787.

Referral Procedure Change at Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Service

Effective last Friday, February 12, 2010, all new referrals to Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services will be placed on a waiting list for services. Click here to view the announcement.