Follow-Up Information on Clarity Service through BrightBytes

During the March HAA meeting, we viewed a webinar on Clarity, a new service we are offering to districts. Clarity, which is used in thousands of schools across the country, uses online surveys to help districts better understand their technology strengths and areas in need of improvement. Data can be gathered at a building and district level.

The value is in the data dashboard that is created for each school. The data tell a story about the degree of technology implementation and integration, impact on teaching and learning, infrastructure and access. It is a tool to plan, make decisions and even monitor implementation and growth in the area of technology in the classroom.

Examples of these surveys for students, teachers, administrators and parents are below. Feel free to answer questions on these sample surveys as you look through them. They generally require about 5-10 minutes to take.

High School Student: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1049180/Clarity-High-School-Student-Sample-Survey

Middle School Student: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1049175/Clarity-Middle-School-Sample-Survey

Elementary School Student: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1049178/Clarity-Elementary-Student-Sample-Survey

Teacher and Administrator Survey:  http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1049181/Clarity-Teacher-and-Administrator-Sample-Survey

Parent Survey: http://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/1049171/Clarity-Parent-Sample-Survey

Once a district has a significant number of surveys filled out (normally defined as 25% or more of the number possible), the real fun of data analysis begins. After the data collection concludes, districts and buildings will be given access to a data dashboard and a set of recommendations that are based on the data and how it compares to other districts. Heartland AEA will offer several different opportunities to become trained in analyzing the data and drilling down to the individual question level.

Click here for a PowerPoint which gives an overview of the process, using the Katy, Texas district as an example.

If you are interested in learning more about Clarity, or you are interested in starting to gather data in your district, please contact either Lance Wilhelm or Susan Schrader at the email addresses below. If you are ready to start surveying your students and staff and community, please indicate a point of contact person for your district, and Lance or Susan will get them the information they need to get started (including survey links and templates for communicating with your various groups).

For more information, contact Lance Wilhelm, Director of Technology, at lwilhelm@aea11.k12.ia.us or Susan Schrader, Director of Resources and Library Services, at sschrader@aea11.k12.ia.us.

AEA Customer Survey: Please Encourage Participation

The AEA Customer Survey will close on April 5. Our current response rate is a bit lower than in years past. We'd be grateful if you would continue to encourage your staff to participate in the survey. The survey is available at http://survey.aea267.k12.ia.us/survey/7490/b5d8/. Below is a message that can be sent from a school administrator to district staff.

Greetings,

If you haven't already, please participate in the 2012-2013 AEA Customer Survey. The information from this survey provides valuable data that assists the AEA system in evaluating its services and continuing to meet current and future LEA needs.

Access the survey at http://survey.aea267.k12.ia.us/survey/7490/b5d8/

The survey will run through Friday, April 5, 2013. You are only asked to complete it once.

If you experience problems with the survey, please contact Dr. Gary Dannenbring, Director of Planning and Evaluation at Prairie Lakes AEA, at gdannenbring@aea8.k12.ia.us for assistance.  

Thank you in advance for your participation.

Superintendents: April 2 HAA Meeting

Download a PDF or Word Doc of the April Heartland Administrators Association meeting agenda. The meeting will be held from 9:00-11:50 a.m. on Tuesday, April 2 at the Heartland AEA Johnston Regional Education Center (6500 Corporate Drive) in Room 13A and B. All handouts will be available on the Google Site at bit.ly/HAA2012.

Fine Arts and the Iowa Core

A one-day introduction to the Fine Arts alignment to Iowa Core is designed to provide arts education/Iowa Core history, supportive arts research, overview of Iowa Core and time for educators to experience lessons and assessments with the fine arts skills and concepts. This day is designed for arts educators, administrators and classroom teachers interested in integrating fine arts with universal constructs: critical thinking, complex communication, creativity, collaboration, flexibility and adaptability, and productivity and accountability. 

While there is no credit offered for this one-day workshop, information will be available at the workshop to extend your learning in an online platform to earn one license renewal or one graduate credit. 

Fine Arts in the Iowa Core 
June 25, 2013 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. 
Summit Middle School (9500 Windsor Parkway, Johnston) 
Activity Number: FA021632311401

Leading RtI with Kevin Feldman on May 10

On May 10, Heartland AEA will host Dr. Kevin Feldman, a leader in the field of Response to Intervention (RtI), for a one-day professional learning opportunity focusing on coaching to support the implementation of RtI. Dr. Feldman’s major contributions are in the areas of building vocabulary and academic English, assisting struggling readers, preventing early reading failure, linking assessment to instruction, developing school - wide content area reading support models for elementary, middle and high schools, differentiating instruction to meet the full range of learners, and accommodating and accelerating ELL/Special Education and other high risk students.

Click here for a flyer which can be distributed to interested educators.

Leading RtI with Kevin Feldman
May 10, 2013
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m
FFA Enrichment Center, DMACC Campus (1055 SW Prairie Trail Parkway, Ankeny)
Activity Number: SI015699111301

Assessing Academic Rigor Courses for Spring 2013

Just to clarify, we will be offering two Assessing Academic Rigor courses this spring for administrators and evaluators. Details for each class are below.

Johnston REC
April 9, 18, 30 and May 16, 2013
8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Activity Number: AD013992111306

Ames Area
April 11, 23 and May 2, 9, 2013
8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Activity Number: AD013999991302
*Please note location changes

Reminder: 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 p.m. 
Johnston REC 
Activity Number: WK031392111301

April Edition of Each and Every Child Newsletter

Click here to find a link to the April 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 feature on the Roland-Story Elementary School’s transformation through the use of Response to Intervention.

DMACC Surplus Available

The DMACC Campus has the following surplus supplies available: 

6 yellow chair/desks

20 black chair/desks

If interested, please contact Julie Klocke, DMACC Purchasing, at (515) 964-6386 or jaklocke1@dmacc.edu. 

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.