The March blog updates for AEA PD Online and AEA K-12 Online are now available. Go to www.aeapdonline.org/ or www.aeak12online.org for information. For real time updates, follow AEA PD Online on Twitter @aeapdonline or on your mobile device by accessing our app at myapp.is/aeapdonline.
- 2014 Summer Ollie and Mollie Course Schedule
- Tool of the Month: Using Twitter in your online courses
- Upcoming Courses: April 1-May 15, 2014
- External Partners
- 10 ideas for Using Twitter in your Online or Blended Course
- Twitter finds a Place in the Classroom
Join us June 5 & 6 for a Teaching Spelling and Decoding course that has a particular focus on the needs of struggling readers. The course will explore the five principles that govern English spelling; best practices in teaching both spelling and decoding; and how to examine a student's reading and spelling to guide instruction. Click here to register.
Please pass this information on to any K-12 reading, spelling and language arts teachers who may be interested in attending.
View the latest Impacting Lives update at http://aeas4iowa.wordpress.com/ for stories about the many ways Iowa's AEAs are making a difference.
In this issue:
- Transition: Working to Build a Life Beyond the Classroom
- Northwest AEA/Denison success: Integrating the Multi-Tiered System of Supports
- Instructional Services – 3D Printing and Scanning
Diverse Learners Resource Fair
March 29, 2014
10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.
Heartland AEA West Des Moines Campus
Click here for more information about this fair that links families of children and youth with special needs to community and agency resources.
ASPIRE Support Group’s Autism Month “Breaking Through Challenging Behavior” Presentation
April 1, 2014
7:00-8:30 p.m.
Heartland AEA Ames Office
Click here for more information about this presentation focusing on functional behavior assessment with Sean Casey, challenging behavior and autism consultant at the Iowa Department of Education.
Transition Fair 
April 7, 2014
5:30-8:30 p.m.
ADM High School, Adel
Click here for more information about this fair for families, educators and others serving students 14 and over with disabilities. Registration is required as an evening meal and childcare will be provided.
Heartland AEA's Creative Services now offers Core-aligned math vocabulary cards created by Granite Schools, Salt Lake City, Utah. The cards have been created based on research for building vocabulary skills. Heartland's math consultants recommend these cards as a great tool to build a common language in a building or district.
Cards come in sets by grade level, K-12. The cards can be printed on bond paper or cardstock. Lamination costs would be an extra fee.
If you are interested in purchasing the cards please contact Jill Crees at creativeservices@heartlandaea.org or (800) 255-0405 ext. 14368.
The I-ELDA testing window, February 1, 2014 to April 30, 2014, is still open.
All identified ESL students must take the IELDA if:
- They are being served in an ESL program.
- They have been identified but parents have signed a wavier to exclude them from ESL service.
- They are in the transition stage of services and have not been exited from the ESL program.
- They arrive in your district from another Iowa school, are identified as ESL, received services at the sending school but have not taken the I-ELDA yet this year.
Students would not take the I-ELDA if
- They are new to the country and district, arriving during the testing window.
- They are still in the process of being identified for services and needing to take the screener, TELPA.
- They have been exited from the ESL program because they have met all exit criteria.
- They have taken the I-ELDA in another Iowa district prior to moving to yours.
Click here for more information on I-ELDA Testing.
Curriculum Leadership Academy
April 10 & 11, 2014
Hilton Garden Inn, Johnston, IA
Click here
for more information about the Iowa ASCD 12th Annual Curriculum
Leadership Academy. The Curriculum Leadership Academy will be held on
April 10 and 11 and is designed for those who have leadership
responsibilities in the areas of curriculum, instruction, assessment or
professional development.
2nd Annual Competency-Based Education Conference
June 23 & 24, 2014
Iowa Events Center, Des Moines, IA
CBE
provides a strong framework for teachers and administrators to
understand the Iowa Core and ensure students are college, career and
citizenship-ready. Come learn how students can learn and demonstrate
competencies which will endure throughout time. Click here for more information.
Click here to register for either or both events.
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.
Drake University will host a session with Dr. Thomas Guskey on The Leader's Role in Implementing Standards-Based Grading.
As educators align instruction and assessments with the Common Core standards for student learning, most find they also must change their grading policies and revise their report card. Learn how to develop new standards-based grading policies and practices that are better for ALL students, gain the support of parents, and don’t create excessive work for teachers.
The session will be held June 18, 2014 at the Iowa Events Center, Hy-Vee Hall, Des Moines, IA. Click here to register.
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.
