Heartland Administrators Association and Superintendent Learning Opportunity

Heartland Administrator Association 2011-12 Meetings
September 6 will be the first meeting of the year for the Heartland Administrators Association (HAA). The HAA is a collaborative effort between superintendents in central Iowa and Heartland AEA. It is open to all superintendents in the Heartland service area. No registration is necessary.

The meetings are held on the first Tuesday of each month beginning at 9:00 a.m. All meetings will be held at the Johnston Regional Education Center at 6500 Corporate Drive in Johnston. The dates for the meetings this year are the following:
September 6, 2011
October 4, 2011
November 1, 2011
December 6, 2011
January 3, 2012
February 7, 2012
March 6, 2012
April 3, 2012
May 1, 2012

We hope to see you all on September 6 (the day after Labor Day). Check next week’s Administrator Connection for the agenda.

Professional Learning Theme for 2011-2012: Confronting the Conditions that Undermine Learning
This year we will again devote the first hour of each HAA meeting to professional learning. We are hoping that all superintendents will choose to participate. We found last year that the best learning came from our colleagues and conversations about how the research on leadership applied situations in our local schools.

Book Provided as a Resource for Learning
All participants will be provided with a copy of Skillful Leader II: Confronting Conditions that Undermine Learning by Alexander D. Platt, Caroline E. Tripp, Robert G Fraser, James R. Warnock, and Rachel E. Curtis The book will be used to frame our study of the conditions that need to be in place to accelerate student learning…and what to do about those conditions that undermine it. Some of the topics discussed will include:

• Collaborative learning and leadership structures
• Community engagement
• Supportive learning environments
• Use of data
• Effective educators (Improving hiring, induction and evaluation to support learning, principal development, impacts of contracts and collective bargaining on improving learning conditions)

Supporting effective instructional and assessment practices to deliver a high quality curriculum The Skillful Leader II was selected as the main resource for our learning experience because it offers a comprehensive analysis of the conditions worth changing with practical strategies and suggestions for leaders at all levels. It also contains many scenarios and mini case studies that should lead to great conversations about these stories and how to apply the lessons in our situations. Here is what Richard Elmore, Professor of Educational Leadership Harvard School of Education, says about this book:

“The Skillful Leader II takes on the central issue of building strong communities of practice in schools that support and nurture high quality instruction. ….This is a wise and much needed, practical and supportive guide for school leaders, aspiring and practicing on how to make schools places where adults and student learn at high levels.”

In addition to the Skillful Leader II, the facilitators will introduce supplemental readings from the current work of some of the leading researchers and authors in the field of educational leadership. Multiple copies of each of these books will be available for checkout by participants at before and after each session.

Titles Available for Checkout in Heartland AEA’s Professional Library:

• Leaders of Learning: How District, School, and Classroom Leaders Improve Student Achievement by Robert Marzano and Richard Dufour (New in June 2011)
• The Moral Imperative Realized by Michael Fullan (Also new in 2011)
• All Systems Go: The Change Imperative for Whole system Reform by Michael Fullan
• Leaders Make it Happen: An Administrator’s Guide to Data Teams by Brian McNulty and Laura Besser
• It’s Being Done: Academic Success in Unexpected Schools, by Karin Chenoweth
• Enhancing RTI: How to Ensure success with Effective Classroom Instruction and Intervention by Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey
• The Skillful Leader I: Confronting Mediocre Teaching by Alexander D. Platt, Caroline E. Tripp, Wayne R. Ogden and Robert G Fraser

Relicensure Credit Available
Relicensure credit will be available for those who are interested. In order to complete the 15 hours needed for credit, there will be some online learning requirements. This blended course of face-to-face meetings and online learning will give participants an opportunity experience learning in an online environment (If you haven’t participated in an online course before…don’t worry the technology will be very easy to access.) If you are not interested in credit, the online learning will be optional.

See You Soon!
There is no need to register prior to attending. Just join us at 9:00 a.m. on September 6.