Our Mission
To provide services and leadership, in partnership with families, schools and communities, that improve the learning outcomes and well-being of all children and youth.

Our Goals
• Increase learning growth for students
• Decrease the gap in achievement
• Increase annual graduation rates
• Increase gateways to post-secondary success

Dec. 2014 School Leader Update

The Iowa DE’s Dec. 2014 School Leader Update includes Director Brad Buck’s thoughts on the year coming to a close. Attorney Nicole Proesch writes about those pesky snow days. And you’ll want to know which schools in Iowa are the best of the best – all of them recipients of this year’s Breaking Barriers to Teaching and Learning Award.

Dec. 2014 Each and Every Child

The Dec. 2014 of Each and Every Child showcases the top school in Iowa when it comes to delivering a quality education for students on Individualized Education Programs. At the school – Davis Elementary in the Grinnell-Newburg Community School District – a full 82 percent of its students on IEPs are proficient in reading and math.

Iowa BOEE Nov. 2014 Newsletter

The Iowa BOEE's Nov. 2014 newsletter includes topics such as STEM scholarships, loan forgiveness, December grads, student overnight trips and more.

UNI's College of Education to host town hall meeting in Des Moines area

The University of Northern Iowa College of Education will host several town hall meetings across the state to discuss education in Iowa. The next meeting will be held in Johnston from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 10, at Heartland AEA, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston.

Meetings will allow educators, parents, students, community leaders, lawmakers and others to join in the conversation about what is needed for the future of education. Topics will include recent Iowa education laws and how UNI is working to support these initiatives; the upcoming renovation of Schindler Education Center on UNI's campus and how it relates to the preparation of highly effective teachers for Iowa; UNI's new Center for Educational Transformation and its role in the future of education in Iowa; and what is needed for Iowa's students to be college-, career- and citizenry-ready.

Meetings will be held across the state from now until December. For more information, contact Dwight Watson, dean of the College of Education, at (319) 273-2717 or dwight.watson@uni.edu.

DMACC Surplus

DMACC West Campus has 18 round tables (42 in. diameter) and 7 booths (booths- 12 tables 48 x 30 and 24 benches) available for surplus. Please e-mail Julie Klocke at jaklocke1@dmacc.edu if interested.

 

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.

Reminder: Applicants Sought for 2014 STEM Education Award for Inspired Teaching

Recently, the 2014 STEM Education Award for Inspired Teaching sponsored by Kemin Industries was launched to honor educators and their dedication to STEM education in Iowa. 

This award will honor one teacher from each of the six STEM regions who will be awarded $1,500 with an additional $1,500 to be used in their classroom. 

Anyone can submit a nomination online at stemaward.fluidreview.com from now until Dec. 12, 2014. After a teacher is nominated, they will be asked to fill out an application. They will have until Jan. 9, 2015 to send in their completed application. These forms will then be sent to a panel of judges who will select the six winners who will be announced at the Statewide STEM Conference in March 2015. 

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.

Agency Holiday Schedule

All Heartland AEA offices will be closed to the public Dec. 24-Jan. 2. Please take note of the following schedule as you plan to send and receive items through our van mail.

    Dec. 22 & 23 Regular Van Delivery
    Dec. 24-Jan. 2 No Van Delivery
    Jan. 5 Regular Van Delivery Resumes

Additionally, there will be no Administrator Connection blog updates on Dec. 26 or Jan. 2.

Professional Learning Instructors: Changes for Offering Credit Courses through Heartland AEA

There are two policy changes impacting the way we offer credits at Heartland AEA. They both go into effect July 1, 2015, but we want to alert you of these changes as you plan for your professional learning opportunities after that date.

LR/EDMA Policy Changes
1) All graduate credit courses must now include 30 hours of learning/application in addition to the 15 hours of collaborative team time.
2) All license renewal classes offered for graduate credit will need to include the 30 hours of learning/application in addition to the 15 hours of collaborative team time. (You may still offer a course for LR only, but if it is offered for graduate credit, the expectations for both LR and graduate credit will be the same.)

Instructor Meetings Scheduled
Because we anticipate many questions regarding the change and the process for rewriting courses, we are holding two instructor meetings in early February. This is entirely voluntary, however, we encourage you to register for one of the sessions to collaborate with other instructors, Heartland AEA and Drake University as we move to this change in practice. The sessions will be held at the Heartland AEA Johnston REC in room 107B as follows:

Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015, from 4-7 p.m. 
Activity Number: MT000792111501

Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015, from 9 a.m.- 12 p.m.
Activity Number: MT000792111502 

Please contact Sue Schirmer at sschirmer@heartlandaea.org if you have any questions or concerns.

Iowa Framework for School Counseling

Many schools are interested in updating the school counseling program but are finding it difficult to come to a class. There is now an online, self-paced course for the Iowa Framework for School Counseling. The course is housed on the AEA PD Online Training System and can be found under "Self-Paced Courses."

The course can be completed at your leisure. If you are just interested in working on one area at this time, you can do that at no charge. You will have to pay if you complete all the modules and want to submit for one license renewal credit.

We hope this is helpful to you as you work towards an ASCA Model program. We are interested in your feedback and comments can be sent to Sue Schirmer at sschirmer@heartlandaea.org.