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

Happy Holidays to You and Yours!

Click above for an e-card (with sound) from chief administrator Paula Vincent wishing you all a happy holiday season! (Click the full screen button in the right hand corner to expand.)

125 School Districts Chosen for Teacher Leadership System, 20 From Heartland AEA Area

Today Iowa Department of Education Director Brad Buck announced the next group of school districts chosen to launch local teacher leadership plans through Iowa’s new Teacher Leadership and Compensation System.

This effort to tap into the expertise of top teachers to improve classroom instruction and raise student achievement is the centerpiece of the state’s landmark education reform package passed by the Legislature in 2013. The system paves the way for more support and greater collaboration for all teachers to learn from each other instead of operating largely in isolation within their classrooms. 
 
Buck said 170 school districts from across the state applied to join the teacher leadership system in the second round.

Of those, 125 school districts were chosen to put in place local plans – 74 of them during the 2015-16 school year and another 51 during the 2016-17 school year. The school districts serve a mix of urban, suburban and rural communities. The 125 selected districts join 39 other districts that were chosen to implement the first teacher leadership systems this fall. The goal is to have all Iowa school districts participate in the optional system by 2016-17, Buck said.

School districts were chosen based on recommendations of the Commission on Educator Leadership and Compensation, which evaluates the applications.

Teacher leadership plans promise to help students learn more by better meeting their individual needs. They also will attract and retain more effective teachers by enhancing career opportunities and paying stipends for taking on extra responsibilities.

“The more I visit schools that are implementing teacher leadership plans, the more convinced I am that this system will improve learning and achievement for all students,” Buck said.

The entire list of grant-winning schools can be found on the Iowa Department of Education’s website.

Data collection for Smarter Balanced Readiness Coming in January

This message has been sent to superintendents and tech directors, but is being reposted as an added measure.

Dear Technology Directors, Curriculum Directors and School Administrators:

As you may know, the Iowa Assessment Task Force is finishing up its legislatively mandated work and voted recently to recommend to the Legislature that the state implement the Smarter Balanced Assessment suite as our state assessment starting with the 2016-17 school year.  It’s unclear what action the Legislature may take based on the recommendation, but we understand there are questions about how ready Iowa schools will be to give an online assessment. This is an important question for Iowa to consider at this time because most states are moving to online testing programs. To this end, the Department, in collaboration with the AEAs, will conduct a brief survey of school districts to help Iowa answer this question. The survey will be sent to you in early January.

Please work within your districts to determine who will be responsible for collecting the information to ensure the information can be collected in a timely manner once the survey is sent. Thank you in advance for your help with this important information collection.

Dave Tilly and Lisa Wilson

TAF Announcement Out & Applications Due Jan. 20

Applications for Teaching Ambassador Fellowship and Principal Ambassador Fellowship at the U.S. Department of Education have been released!

Recognizing that teachers and principals are the most trusted sources of information about education policy for policymakers, the Teaching and Principal Ambassador Fellowships serve to connect ED's programs, policies, and resources directly to the field.

Since 2008, the Department has employed 87 outstanding teachers on a full- or part-time basis through the Teaching Ambassador Fellowship program. Last year, ED piloted a Principal Ambassador Fellowship that brought in three talented principals.

The Washington Fellowship is a full-time appointment, based at the Department’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. The Classroom Fellowship enables teachers and principals to participate on a part-time basis, while allowing them to fulfill their regular school responsibilities.

Learn more about the Teaching and Principal Ambassador Fellowships. The application window for the coming school year closes on January 20, 2015 at 11:59 p.m., ET.

BoEE January 2015 Superintendent Notes

The BoEE has released their January Superintendent Notes early as there have been changes to the substitute authorization, activities director and special education endorsement regulations that took effect earlier this week.

Capitol Girls Event Set for Feb. 11

The 6th annual Capitol Girls event, a collaboration between the Office on the Status of Women and the Girl Scouts of Greater Iowa, has been set to occur on Wednesday, February 11, 2015.  Registration is now available.

Capitol Girls is a chance for high school age girls (9th-12th grade) to spend a day at the Capitol shadowing female legislators to learn more about State government and to foster women in leadership roles. Girls will also be able to meet legislators from their home district, hear from the Lt. Governor, and tour the capitol.

Attached is the flyer for this year’s event which contains the link to the registration page.  Please forward it on to anyone you believe would be interested, and feel free to contact me with questions.  

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: Chapter 62 Resources Now Available

This fall a variety of resources have been shared for implementation of Chapter 62. Many of these resources have been pulled into a Google Drive folder for easy access. It may be helpful to bookmark the link as additional resources will be added throughout the year. Some of the resources in the folder include: 

• DE Parent notification template and family partnership tools 
• DE guidance documents for Early Literacy Implementation 
• Q & A for Chapter 62, September 2014 
• Archived Zoom session facilitated by Heartland AEA on 11/3/2014

28 Days of OLLIE Coming this February!

Mark your calendars! 28 Days of OLLIE is coming! Starting Feb. 1, 2015 and lasting throughout February, AEA PD Online kicks off its brand new OLLIE online community for teachers. Part of their Online Learning for Iowa Educators (OLLIE) series, the community provides educators resources, live events, discussions, sharing and networking with other educators. It is the perfect learning place for teachers looking to add blended or flipped learning to their classroom.

During the 28 Days of OLLIE, they will have daily events, activities and even contests with prizes, where you can get acclimated to the community. Be sure to check out the AEA PD Online website in the upcoming weeks for more details.