Heartland AEA Releases Agency Videos

The Agency has created four new videos to help describe AEA service. The main video is entitled, "About Heartland AEA" and takes a brief look at the services Heartland AEA provides for children and families, educators and school leaders. Three smaller videos go into more detail about services provided to the three audiences. The videos are available on our EduVision site. Direct links, including video descriptions are below. Special thanks goes to Dr. Tom Lane, Carlisle Community Schools, for his testimonial. 

About Heartland AEA
Education is everyone's responsibility. This video recounts ways Heartland AEA works with parents, educators and school leaders in improving the learning outcomes of children and youth.

Heartland AEA Services to Children and Families
Parents discuss how Heartland AEA has made an impact in the lives of their children.

Heartland AEA Services to Educators
Sarah Brown Wessling, Johnston High School English Teacher and 2010 National Teacher of the Year, describes her experiences of working with Heartland AEA.

Heartland AEA Services to School Leaders
Dr. Tom Lane, Superintendent of Carlisle Schools and 2012 Iowa Superintendent of the Year, provides his insight and experience of working with Heartland AEA.

Autism Expert to Present Strategies at April 2 Event

In recognition of National Autism Awareness Month, local support group, ASPIRE, along with Iowa State University’s Student Disability Resources Office and Heartland AEA, will host an evening with Alyson Beytien, MS/Autism, BCBA. Parents, teachers and family members can learn what they can do each day to ensure success for children with autism. The event will be held on April 2, 2013 from 7:00-8:30 p.m. in the Carver Hall Auditorium on the Iowa State University campus. There is no cost to attend. Click here for a flyer that can be distributed to interested parents and school staff.

Character Development & Leadership Curriculum with Joseph Hoedel on April 12

Heartland AEA will host a morning workshop on April 12, 2013 lead by Dr. Joseph Hoedel, lead advisor of the Character Development & Leadership Curriculum. Many schools use this curriculum as a stand-alone course for their freshman academy, their student government class or as an elective leadership/mentoring course. By the end of the workshop, participants will have an educated understanding of how this program aligns with the Common Core standards for English, improves high school exit exams, increases reading and writing test scores and prepares students for post-secondary success. 

Meeting the Common Core Standards for English Through Teaching Character 
April 12, 2013 
8:30 a.m.-12:30 a.m. 
Johnston REC 
Activity Number: WK031392111301

Statewide CoPI Event: Connect to Collaborate, March 28

Are you striving to implement the Iowa Core in an online or blended format? Have you been forging ahead alone? NO LONGER! Learn how you can participate in Iowa Communities of Practice and Innovation (CoPI) with some of the most passionate and improvement-oriented Iowa teachers. Join the statewide CoPI event, Connect to Collaborate, on March 28, 2013 from 9:00-11:00 a.m. The Heartland site is in Rooms 3, 4 and the ICN of the Johnston Regional Education Center (6500 Corporate Drive). Click here for a flyer for the event.

Use the sharing functions below to email this post to interested teachers or post on your professional blog, Twitter, Facebook or Google+ pages.

Preparing for 2013-2014 Title III Visit

Iowa’s federal Title III visit will be conducted next school year, 2013-14. Is your district ready to meet with a Federal Title III program officer? To ensure that you are prepared if your district is chosen for a site visit, specific items are required to be in place in your district.

Two essential items, the Lau Plan (see explanation below) and the Home Language Survey, must be in place as mandated by NCLB, Title I and Title III guidance. These two items must be in place even if you do not have English language learners currently enrolled.

Lau Plan/District ESL Plan/Handbook
To match federal language we are now calling the District ESL Plan/Handbook by it’s federal name, the “Lau Plan.” If you do not have your required Lau Plan/District ESL Plan/Handbook written, click here for a template or find the template on Heartland AEA's ELL webpage. Many of you have this plan/handbook already written in preparation for site visits, but have you taken the time to make sure it is current? Do all teachers in your school understand what it is? Do the people involved in carrying out the plan realize their roles? 

Significance of the name Lau Plan (Lau v. Nichols, 1974)
This case is a class action suit brought by parents of a non-English-proficient Chinese student against the San Francisco Unified School District. The Supreme Court ruled that identical education does not constitute equal education under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The court ruled that the district must take affirmative steps to overcome educational barriers faced by the non-English speaking students.

Home Language Survey
All students, ELLs and non-ELLs alike, must have a completed Home Language Survey in their permanent file. Completion of this survey ensures the next steps of proper identification of children who need additional services to learn and function in English. This survey can be found at www.transact.com. Form A is the form to use in Iowa and can be found in 23 languages.

Transact is a service provided by the Iowa DE for all educators to communicate with non-native English speaking families. To access translated documents you must do the following:

• Login by creating your own username and password -- the username must be your school email address.
• Once you are logged into the site go to the search bar and type in “Home Language Survey”
• You will see several versions, but you should open “Version A.”
• When Version A opens, you can choose the language you need for parent communication by going to the dropdown menu in the upper right where the default says “English.”
• Below the language choice, you will see a document type (such as PDF). Some districts print the English version on one side and the target language on the other.

March 2013 School Leader Update

Click here to download the March 2013 issue of the School Leader Update from the Iowa Department of Education.

March Edition of "Each and Every Child"

Click here to find a link to the March 2013 edition of "Each and Every Child" brought to you by the Iowa Department of Education’s Bureau of Student and Family Support Services. The e-newsletter is designed to enhance communication between parents and teachers. Please forward it to your parents in your district and use the stories as opportunities for discussion. This issue includes a story of a district that is seeing impressive growth for students with special needs with the implementation of Response to Intervention.

Northwood-Kensett Superintendent Position

Northwood-Kensett Community School District, with an enrollment of 500 students located at the county seat of Worth County, seeks a visionary superintendent to begin July 1, 2013. An Iowa Superintendent Certification is required for employment. Application deadline is March 18, 2013. 

For application materials contact: Board Secretary, Northwood-Kensett CSD, 1200 1st Ave N, Northwood, IA 50459-0289 or by e-mail at dathey@nwood-kensett.k12.ia.us, or download application materials from the Northwood-Kensett CSD website at www.nwood-kensett.k12.ia.us. 

The dissemination of information from external organizations by Heartland AEA does not imply sponsorship or endorsement of the information. It is being passed on to our stakeholders for its educational value.

Still Time to Apply for Diversity Award

Applications are still being accepted for the Phyllis A. Yager Memorial Commitment to Diversity Award. The award recognizes educators who go above and beyond the required curriculum to increase diversity awareness. Recipients receive a stipend to further diversity initiatives or professional development. For more information about the award, click here. 

Click here for the application which is due March 15, 2013 and can be mailed to College of Education Diversity Committee, Office of the Dean, 459 Lindquist Center, Iowa City, Iowa 52242. 

The dissemination of information from external organizations by Heartland AEA does not imply sponsorship or endorsement of the information. It is being passed on to our stakeholders for its educational value.

ISU AMS Severe Weather Poster Contest

Iowa State University Student Chapter of the American Meteorological Society (ISU AMS) is sponsoring a Severe Weather Awareness Poster Contest open to all elementary students in the state of Iowa (grades K-6). Click here for a packet of information or visit the ISU AMS Poster webpage. Submissions are due by March 29, 2013. 

The dissemination of information from external organizations by Heartland AEA does not imply sponsorship or endorsement of the information. It is being passed on to our stakeholders for its educational value.