On behalf of Heartland Area Education Agency, I’d like to extend a warm 'welcome back' to the new school year to all of you. I hope you join us in our excitement for the start of another school year. We look forward to the opportunity to partner with you as we continue to focus on services that impact student learning and well-being.
I invite you to make use of this Heartland AEA Administrator Connection blog. The Administrator Connection is updated every Friday (excluding holidays and summer vacation) to inform area superintendents, principals, curriculum directors and other school leaders of important announcements, agency news and professional development opportunities. The Administrator Connection provides you with a way to share ideas, provide feedback and exchange information with each other.
Please do not hesitate to contact your regional director or me with questions, comments and suggestions at any time. Let's make this an impactful year!
Take care,
Paula Vincent
Chief Administrator
(800) 255-0405 ext. 14314
pvincent@heartlandaea.org
Heartland AEA will be offering a professional learning opportunity focused on early elementary reading as it pertains to Chapter 62 requirements. These sessions will be held Sept. 11-25, 2014 at various locations across the Heartland AEA region. The targeted audience includes school administrators, curriculum coordinators, coaches and student services coordinators. These sessions will include presentation of most recent information, review of new guidance documents and discussion of current questions and sharing processes being used by participants to meet Chapter 62 requirements. Areas of coverage include:
- What does “at risk of substantial deficiency” mean and what is required?
- What does “substantially deficient” mean and what is required?
- Discussion of the relationship between substantially deficient and suspicion of a disability.
- Parent notification.
- Progress monitoring and monitoring requirements.
- Data-based decisions based on monitoring data.
- Considerations around implementation fidelity.
These meetings are sponsored by Heartland AEA and will be facilitated by Randy Allison and Martha Condon.
Here is the registration information.
The next session of Assessing Academic Rigor is now available for registration in the Heartland AEA Professional Development Catalog. The dates are September 23, 30, October 14 & 21, 2014. This course is required for school administrators (superintendents, central office administration, building principals, assistant principals, etc.) and other educational leaders responsible for evaluating educators who are renewing their licenses.
Heartland AEA will offer two classes to help train your new school nurse.
New School Nurse Moodle (Online)
Beginning Sept. 1, the year-long Moodle-based class opens to school nurses hired after September of 2013. Registration is mandatory, but the class is free. Credit toward nurse license renewal (1.2 CEUs) is optional for a flat fee of $25. Topics to be covered include:
- Nursing delegation of health procedures to paraprofessionals
- Instruction on how to write an individual health plan (IHP)
- Instructions on how to conduct health evaluations and screenings for special education
- Understanding special health services and the IEP
- Medicaid billing and the role of the school nurse
- Section 504 and the nurse as a team member
- Heartland AEA resources available to assist nurses
- Confidentiality and FERPA
This flyer contains additional information as well as information on how to register.
Student Vision Screening Certification Class (Live)
This class meets criteria set by the new vision screening law. Held Sept. 5, 2014 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., this live class will be taught by a certified Prevent Blindness Iowa trainer and will result in vision screening certification for the RN. The class will also include an “on site” practice session held in a local elementary school. The class is free but .45 CEUs are available for a fee of $15. Space is limited.
This flyer contains additional information as well as information on how to register.
Rosetta Stone is continuing its partnership with the Iowa Educators Consortium (IEC), offering you the opportunity to continue or create language learning in your school with their online software. But hurry! Renewals and new licenses must be secured by Aug. 21 for a Sept. 1 start date!
Rosetta Stone has been proven beneficial in world language initiatives and ESL/ELL efforts, as well as being a trusted resource for existing teachers and independent or advanced learners.
To learn more about Rosetta Stone in the classroom, click here.
To read case studies from educators just like you, click here.
IEC pricing is $75 per online subscription. Additional savings are available for multi-year contracts.
For license renewals, contact Shannon Rankin at 800.788.0822 ext. 7708 or srankin@rosettastone.com. For new accounts, contact Rene Nicolle Murphy at 800.788.0822 ext. 7712 or rmurphy@rosettastone.com.
Iowa’s Participation Guidelines for determining which students should be taking Iowa’s Alternate Assessment are now available. This document will help IEP teams make determinations for the 2014-2015 school year. Students are no longer allowed to split between Assessment tests; they either need to take all of their assessments through Alternate Assessment or all through the Iowa Assessments.
The Iowa Educators Consortium (IEC), in partnership with Midwest Computer Products and MNJ Technologies, is pleased to announce that Chromebooks have now been added to the spring line item bid!
The Acer C720 11.6” model is available from Midwest Computer Products for $271.17.
The HP Chromebook 14” model is available from MNJ Technologies for $316.83. Both models include the Google management license at no additional cost. Extras such as additional memory and ‘white glove service’ plans are also available at reduced rates.
Ordering information and complete details are available in this flyer, or you may contact Robert Ogan, IEC Technology Coordinator, at rogan@iec-ia.org.
From the U.S. Department of Education’s Heartland Communications and Outreach Team
We have received inquiries regarding the educational services available for the children from Central America who have recently crossed the U.S. - Mexico border.
The U.S. Department of Education is in close communication with the other agencies, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, leading the federal response to the humanitarian situation on the border and have created the fact sheet available at www.ed.gov/unaccompaniedchildren. The fact sheet provides information to help education leaders better understand the responsibilities of States and local educational agencies (LEAs) in connection with such students, and the existing resources available to help educate all immigrant students. The third page also contains frequently asked questions.
The internal team Secretary Duncan has tasked with tracking the inquiries being received from the field will continue to monitor this situation as it evolves and the new school year approaches.
