DIBELS Support for 2013-2014

Heartland AEA will again provide assessment materials and access to the DIBELS website at no cost to your district (https://dibels.uoregon.edu/) for the 2013-2014 school year. Given the timeline of implementation of the new system the Department of Education has recently announced, we will review DIBELS support annually as we monitor usage and the implementation of the new statewide system.

DIBELS assesses literacy skills and assists teachers and literacy teams in identifying those students who may be in need of additional instruction. Questions regarding administration and scoring, training and/or use of the DIBELS can be directed to your regional director.

April 2013 Edition of AEA Impacting Lives Update

All of Iowa’s AEAs have received great letters of support from parents who are grateful for the services their children have been provided by AEA staff. For this month’s Impacting Lives update at http://aeas4iowa.wordpress.com/, we are sharing some letters we’ve received. Thank you to all who have showed support to the AEA system. We are truly honored to provide the services that impact so many students’ lives in Iowa. Four stories come from the Heartland area: Aiden, Brooklyn, Alex and Aedyn.

April 2013 AEA PD Online and AEA K-12 Online Blog Updates

The AEA PD Online and AEA K-12 Online April Blog Update is now available. Go to www.aeapdonline.org or www.aeak12online.org for updates. For real time updates, follow AEA PD Online on Twitter @aeapdonline or on your mobile device by accessing our app at myapp.is/aeapdonline.

AEA PD Online's issue includes:

• Preparations for 2013 Back-to-School Online Training
• New Online Trainings
• Tool of the Month: Visual Ranking
• AEA PD Online: Live
• Upcoming Courses
• External Partner Webinars

AEA K-12 Online issue includes:

• A View from the Field: Blended Learning & Flipped Classrooms
• Blended Learning Seminar Series
• Amy Burns Explains How She Uses SoftChalk with Students
• A View from the Field: Conceptual Teaching and the Iowa Core

UI-Hoover Institute for Civic Engagement for Secondary Teachers

Secondary principals may have received this message sent in February by the University of Iowa. The U of I wished us to post it here in order to reach a wider audience.

Dear Principal,

The University of Iowa and the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library Association have joined together to create the UI-Hoover Institute for Civic Engagement for secondary teachers. It will meet June 24-26, 2013 on the UI campus in Iowa City and the Hoover Library in West Branch. Participants will receive guidance and support in developing and carrying out civic engagement projects within their schools. Scholarships will be awarded to those selected to participate.

We invite you to recommend a team of two teachers from your school to apply for admission and scholarships to participate in this Institute. We are seeking teachers who take the initiative, provide enthusiastic leadership in their discipline, are committed to developing and teaching 21st Century Learning Skills, and want to create outside-the-classroom opportunities for their students to engage and improve their communities.

Participants earn two semester hours of University of Iowa graduate credit (included in the scholarship) as they learn to create civic engagement projects for their students. The Institute provides instruction as well as time to develop and receive feedback on their project ideas, and an ongoing community of Institute participants for advice and encouragement after they return to school in the fall.

Participation in the Institute benefits your school in a number of ways. It equips your teachers to carry out projects that implement:

• the Iowa Core Curriculum’s Social Studies goal of motivating students “to participate in civic and community life as active and informed citizens”
• the Iowa Core’s 21st Century Skills’ goal of promoting students’ “civic literacy” and developing their skills in problem solving, collaboration, adaptability, initiative, effective communication, analysis, and imagination
• a process that enriches your student body’s educational experience as they engage and build connections with their own communities

Every secondary school in the state of Iowa is invited to have teachers apply, but space is extremely limited – only fifteen schools (of two teachers each) will be able to participate in the inaugural edition of the Institute. We are accepting applications on a rolling admissions basis, so please act promptly to identify those teachers who you would like to apply to the Institute. You will find more information on the Institute and the application page for your teachers on our website at: UI-Hoover Institute for Civic Engagement.

We welcome any questions you or your teachers might have, and look forward to receiving your teachers’ applications. Send your questions to Cary R. Covington at cary-covington@uiowa.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.

Iowa Youth Survey Results Available

The Iowa Youth Survey results are in!! The state report is available here. Other reports (county, AEA, etc) are available at www.iowayouthsurvey.iowa.gov. Superintendents (or a designee) may request local results. 

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.

DMACC Surplus Available

The DMACC Campus has the following surplus supplies available: 

6 yellow chair/desks

6 black swivel chairs

20 black chair/desks 

26 padded, sled based chairs 







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.