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
Teachers, students and parents are encouraged to attend the Iowa
Financial Literacy Summit on May 5 in Des Moines. The Iowa Department of
Education is hosting this event as part of a broader effort to improve
Iowa students’ financial literacy skills. The purpose of the summit is
to raise awareness that making smart, responsible financial decisions is
an important part of a great education; to provide teaching resources
to help students meet the financial literacy component of our state
standards; and to connect Iowans with community resources and programs
that support financial literacy education. Tickets are available through
April 21.
For more information, including the summit agenda and registration information, visit the Iowa Department of Education website.
Quality and affordable student planners are available for your school through Heartland AEA’s Creative Services. Basic planners will have a plastic cover and coil binding and will contain intro pages, planner pages, note pages and different calendars. The planners include a full-year calendar to accommodate extended year schedules.
Choose your preferred cover, intro pages, planner pages, note pages and calendars from our set styles for basic planners (see Planner Guide). Optional pages can be added for an additional fee (student handbook, activities calendars, etc.). Order quantities must be a minimum of 50 planners.
Standard Planner Prices
5.5” x 8.5” - $1.70 per planner
8.5” x 11” - $2.80 per planner
7" x 11" - $3.10 per planner
Click here for the Planner Guide (shows options for covers, intro pages, calendar pages, etc.) and here for the Planner Order Form. Please have your planner orders placed by May 15, 2015 and approved by June 2, 2015 so they will be ready for the beginning of the school year.
For more information or to ask about personalizing your school's planners, contact our Creative Services at creativeservices@heartlandaea.org or (800) 255-0405 ext. 14368.
Earlier this week the Heartland AEA Communications Department sent out the second issue of the Educator Connection newsletter
in its new format. The Educator Connection is intended to keep our
educators better connected to our agency and to the many programs and
services we offer to educators, students and families. Educators can
subscribe to receive the newsletter here.
If you have any comments or suggestions for articles you’d like to see, please e-mail them to the Heartland AEA Communications Department.
As we gear up for our summer professional development season, we have news to share about some changes coming to many of our courses. We know change is scary, but we promise it won’t be too painful. In fact, we think it will be a positive change for everyone!
Professional development courses offered through Heartland AEA that begin on or after July 1, 2015 will give students the opportunity for more rigorous course content and out-of-class learning. Specifically, all classes offering Drake University graduate credit will have new requirements. For example, a one-credit course will require 15 hours of in-class learning plus an additional 30 hours of out-of-class learning. This will be true for all participants, whether they are taking the class for graduate credit or license renewal credit. Participants will need to check their course syllabus closely to become familiar with what the requirements will be for each of our courses.
The following Q & A will help course participants understand these new requirements.
Why is this change happening?
This change is taking place because of two factors:
- As it applies to Drake University courses, the Title IV Federal Financial Aid Guidelines now require 15 instructor-led hours with an additional 30 hours of outside work. This connects to Federal Student Loan requirements for degree completion.
- As it applies to license renewal courses, the statewide AEA system is working together to develop common programs, procedures and policies across the state for AEA license renewal programs. With the change to the Drake requirements, and the statewide license renewal programming connections, this change is coming about at this time.
Will graduate credit still work for salary advancement?
As with all personnel questions, it is best to contact your district/school’s Human Resources Department. As far as we know, these credits will still work for advancement on the salary schedule. You may, however, want to double check as to what grade is required (A, B, C, D).
With these added requirements, can I use this credit toward a master’s degree?
If the course is taken for graduate credit, and if you secure advisor approval, these courses can be used as electives in a Drake master’s program. Other universities may also allow these courses. We encourage educators to check with their institution to be certain.
Why are the requirements for licensure renewal credit the same as Drake University credit?
The statewide AEA system, with input from school administrators and university leaders, determined that the focus of a course should be on the learning, not on the number of hours spent on the course. If the rigor of the course meets that of a master’s level, the learning should also be at that level for the license renewal course. This way all participants in a course have the same level of learning, which will lead to more robust conversations and greater learning all around.
Why wouldn’t I just take a course at Drake?
The costs for Drake credit through Heartland AEA are a bargain! If you were to take a course at Drake University, you would pay $450 per credit plus a $60 technology fee. The cost of a one-credit Drake course through Heartland AEA is either $100 or $160 depending on the type of course.
For more information, please see this informational video.
If you have any other questions, contact Sue Schirmer, License Renewal Coordinator, at sschirmer@heartlandaea.org or (800) 255-0405 ext. 14379.
Date: April 13, 2015
Time: 5:30-8:30 p.m.
Location: Adel-DeSoto-Minburn High School
Parents, students ages
14+, educators and AEA staff are invited to attend this fair to gather
information that will be of assistance to students with special needs
who will be transitioning from high school to post-secondary pursuits.
Break-out Sessions
6:20-6:55 p.m., 7:05-7:40 p.m., 7:50-8:30 p.m.
Informational Tables
5:30-8:00 p.m.
Registration
Registration is not
required, but it would be helpful if students let their guidance
counselor or special education teacher know that they plan to attend by
March 30, 2015.
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
Course registration is
extended until April 3 for two ELL professional development
opportunities to be held in Johnston at the Stoney Creek Inn:
Advocating for ELLs: Overview for School and District Administrators
Date: April 22, 2015
Time: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. (Check-in from 8-8:30 a.m.)
Location: Stoney Creek Inn, Johnston, Iowa, Pioneer Room
Activity Number: ES008799991501
This workshop is focused specifically on the needs of administrators with opportunities to network with other district leaders.
Advocating for ELLs: Overview for Teachers and Teacher Leaders
Dates: April 23-24, 2015
Time: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (Check-in from 8-8:30 a.m.)
Location: Stoney Creek Inn, Johnston, Iowa, Northwoods Conference Room
Activity Number: ES008899991501
License renewal credit
will be awarded the April 23-24 workshop for full participation. Title
III funds will be available to cover the cost of substitute teachers,
with reimbursement claim forms available at the event.
The workshops will be grounded in Diane Staehr Fenner’s book Advocating for English Learners: A Guide for Educators. A copy will be purchased for each participant.
See revised agendas for more information!
Presenter Bios
Diane Staehr Fenner, Ph.D.
is the President of DSF Consulting, LLC, a woman-owned small business
that provides expertise to support the achievement of English learners
(ELs) based on research, best practice, and standards for P-12 students
and educators. She has provided professional development on implementing
the Common Core for English learners in several states and districts.
Teddi Predaris is a
Senior Consultant at DSF Consulting and leverages over 35 years of
experience in the field of English for Speakers of Other Languages
(ESOL), bilingual education and Two-Way Immersion programs.
Iowa Transition Conference
Sept. 22-24, 2015
Coralville Marriott
Proposals are now being accepting for the third annual Iowa Transition Conference:
- Submissions accepted through April 10, 2015
- Presenters notified by May 1, 2015
- Possible topics may
include: post-secondary transition planning, career development and
skills training strategies, adult agency collaborations, student run
businesses, increasing student engagement strategies, dropout prevention
and parent collaboration
- Presenters may attend the day they are presenting for free!!
To submit a proposal:
- Go to www.EdEvents.org and click on Iowa Transition Conference.
- On the right side of the home page, you will see Submit a Proposal. Click on that link to access your account.
- If you don’t already
have an account, you will need to create one. If you do have an account,
just type in your email and password to access the proposal submission
form. The system recognizes you by your unique email address and
password combination, so be sure to use the same email address whenever
you log on to EdEvents.
- Complete the form and click Submit Proposal.
If you have any questions, please contact info@EdEvents.org.
Each morning, the
Heartland AEA Communications Department provides links to local and
national education news headlines to those who have signed up for our
“News Clips” email list. If you would like to be added to the News Clips
list, contact the Communications Department at comms@heartlandaea.org.
Have you followed
Heartland AEA and the AEA system on social media yet? If yes, great—now
tell a friend! If not, what are you waiting for?
Heartland AEA
• Facebook
• Twitter
AEA System
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Blog
• Pinterest
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
A great education includes knowing how to make smart, responsible financial decisions. As part of a statewide effort to improve students’ financial literacy skills, Gov. Terry E. Branstad, Lt. Gov. Reynolds and the Iowa Department of Education today announced they will host an Iowa Financial Literacy Summit this spring and encouraged Iowans to get involved. The summit will be held on May 5 at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines.
The summit is open to all Iowans, including middle and high school students, parents, and educators. The event will include speeches from Branstad, Reynolds, and Jack Kosakowski, chief executive officer of Junior Achievement, an organization dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy.
Further details about the summit will be announced later this month. Tickets are available through April 21. To register, go to the Iowa Department of Education's website.
The summit will be paid for with funding from the Iowa Department of Education, registration fees and generous support from the private sector. Registration for the day is $50, with room for about 500 attendees.
Thousands of talented Iowa educators lead and inspire their students, but only one is chosen annually as the state’s top teacher. The deadline to nominate the 2016 Iowa Teacher of the Year is April 25.
The award is an opportunity to recognize an exceptional Iowa teacher who is helping to redefine education. Nominations will be accepted from anyone, including students, parents, school administrators, colleagues, college faculty members and associations.
Nomination forms can be found on the Iowa Department of Education’s website.
The Iowa Teacher of the Year award was established in 1958. The annual program is sponsored by the Iowa Department of Education through an appropriation from the Iowa Legislature.
The Teacher of the Year serves as an ambassador to education and as a liaison to primary and secondary schools, higher education and organizations across the state.
Clemencia Spizzirri, a middle-school Spanish teacher from the Des Moines Public Schools, was named the 2015 Teacher of the Year.
The 2016 Teacher of the Year will be announced this fall.
In the fall of 2015, districts will be required to upload their district’s Lau Plans along with their district’s C-Plans once again. Based on last year’s initial upload when all Lau Plans were reviewed for the first time, the need for clear guidance emerged. In order to support district requests in preparing a Lau Plan for ELL services well in advance of the fall upload, professional development will be provided regarding the writing of this federally mandated document.
Participating district teams will leave this workshop with a clear understanding, based on a DE-approved K-12 Lau Plan for Serving ELLs template, and the recently developed Lau Plan checklist, of the requirements for a successful district Lau Plan that will earn the rating “APPROVED” when submitted in the fall.
Who should attend?
District teams, including District and Building Administrators of ELLs, ESL Teachers, Counselors and Classroom/Content teachers who are Lau Plan Team members
Lau Plan Writing Workshop
Date: May 11, 2015
Time: 8:30-11:30 a.m.
Location: Johnston REC, Room 107 A & B
Activity Number: ES009092111501
Course registration is extended until April 3 for two ELL professional development opportunities to be held in Johnston at the Stoney Creek Inn:
Advocating for ELLs: Overview for School and District Administrators
Date: April 22, 2015
Time: 8 a.m.-4 p.m. (Check-in from 8-8:30 a.m.)
Location: Stoney Creek Inn, Johnston, Iowa, Pioneer Room
Activity Number: ES008799991501
This workshop is focused specifically on the needs of administrators with opportunities to network with other district leaders.
Advocating for ELLs: Overview for Teachers and Teacher Leaders
Dates: April 23-24, 2015
Time: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (Check-in from 8-8:30 a.m.)
Location: Stoney Creek Inn, Johnston, Iowa, Northwoods Conference Room
Activity Number: ES008899991501
License renewal credit will be awarded the April 23-24 workshop for full participation. Title III funds will be available to cover the cost of substitute teachers, with reimbursement claim forms available at the event.
The workshops will be grounded in Diane Staehr Fenner’s book Advocating for English Learners: A Guide for Educators. A copy will be purchased for each participant.
See revised agendas for more information!
Presenter Bios
Diane Staehr Fenner, Ph.D. is the President of DSF Consulting, LLC, a woman-owned small business that provides expertise to support the achievement of English learners (ELs) based on research, best practice, and standards for P-12 students and educators. She has provided professional development on implementing the Common Core for English learners in several states and districts.
Teddi Predaris is a Senior Consultant at DSF Consulting and leverages over 35 years of experience in the field of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), bilingual education and Two-Way Immersion programs.
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
The March 2015 issue of the School Leader Update is available from the Iowa Department of Education. In this issue, Director Brad Buck reminds us to be thankful – for our teachers. Legislative liaison Shan Seivert gives us an update on legislation that could affect all of us and attorney Nicole Proesch touches on the law – and leprechauns.
The
Iowa Department of Education is launching a year-long program to
support building principals state-wide who lead the Teacher Leadership
and Compensation System.
Overall Program Purpose: To equip and
support principals to form a cohesive building leadership team that is
aligned to a singular mission as embraced by the district, and is able
to develop and lead a collaborative process to strengthen instructional
practice that leverages teacher leaders for school-wide improvement of
student learning.
Audience: The program will be open to TLC
schools who implemented in school year 2014-15 (YR 1) and who will
implement in 2015-16 (YR 2).
Information Session Details: Any
districts interested in learning more about this opportunity should plan
to participate in one of the following meetings next week. All details,
including program outcomes, participation requirements, dates,
selection process and other key components will be shared via ZOOM.
ZOOM dates and times are:
Session 1: March 9, 2015 from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Session 2: March 9, 2015 from 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
Session 3: March 11, 2015 from 8 – 9 a.m.
Session 4: March 12, 2015 from 9 – 10 a.m.
Superintendents,
or superintendent designees are asked to go to the Iowa Department of
Education website on the TLC webpage to register for the informational
ZOOM session they plan to attend. Participants will then receive the
link to the desired ZOOM informational session.
Registration on the TLC page of the DE website.
If
you are unable to attend any of these sessions, recorded session will
be available, linked to the TLC webpage on the DE website on Friday,
March 13, 2015.
Don’t miss this professional development day through the collaboration of West Des Moines Community Schools and Heartland Area Education Agency. Please pass the following information to Title III ESL and content/grade level teachers and administrators of ELLs.
Teaching ELLs with Gaps in their Formal Education
Date: Monday, May 4, 2015
Location: West Des Moines Learning Resource Center, Community Room
Times: 8:30 am- 3:30 pm; Lunch will be provided
Activity Number: ES008969571502
Description:
Kristiina Montero, Ph.D. will explore her groundbreaking, community-engaged research that explores teaching English language and print literacy to English language learners who have experienced gaps in their formal education due to mass violence and/or disaster. Public schools inherit students who have limited L1 literacy and other gaps in their formal education. This workshop will explore literacy strategies that will benefit all ELLs, but will specifically focus on the learning needs of ELLs with limited or interrupted formal education.
Bio of Dr. Montero
Kristiina Montero, Ph.D. is an associate professor in the Faculty of Education at Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. She received her PhD in Language and Literacy Education from The University of Georgia (Athens, GA) in 2004One of her overarching goals is to give voice to marginalized individuals and communities. Her most recent work examines the impact of early literacy instructional interventions on the English language and literacy development of adolescent English language learners with limited prior schooling.
To extend her work with adolescent refugee students she recently completed the Global Mental Health: Trauma and Recovery Certificate Program through Harvard University. Her research can be found in journals such as The Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, The Journal of Children's Literature, Middle School Journal, and Oral History Forum d'histoire orale.
Dr. Montero is passionate about learning, teaching and pedagogy. She has taught courses in language and literacy, equity and diversity and children’s literature in teacher preparation programs and qualitative research methods, oral history research methods and narrative analysis, and critical theory and praxis at the graduate level. Her university teaching was recognized with the Meredith Professors Teaching Excellence Award at Syracuse University in 2007 and at Laurier, she was nominated for the Northeastern Graduate Schools Teaching Award in 2013. More recently, Dr. Montero was honored with an Alumni Excellence award for all around teaching, research, and service to the literacy research community from Northern Illinois University (2014).
We are pleased to announce that many of the Iowa Reading First videos are now available online at the AEA Digital Library. Log in with the school online database username/password.
- Search by topic, title or presenters (like Emily Calhoun, Nell Duke, Timothy Shanahan, Linda Kucan, etc.)
- Watch the entire video or the smaller, individual clips.
- Stream or download the video or clip.
- Search by specific keywords such as graphic organizers, sequencing, story structure, constructing visual representations, fluency, phonemic awareness, PWIM, read aloud, talk aloud, nonfiction, fluency and readers theater, ELL, vocabulary, comprehension and much more.
- Copy/paste a persistent link to a specific video or clip.
To see all the videos and clips, search: Reading First OR Every Child Reads
These videos will be excellent supports in professional development programs and will also support individual teachers as they learn and practice their knowledge and skills.
On March 4 Heartland AEA held its first-ever Education Career Fair, seeking to help match school districts in our service area with education applicants. For a first time event, it was a resounding success, with approximately 350 job seekers in attendance! We were happy to see a great mix of attendees -- from veteran teachers, to new teachers to college students preparing for life beyond spring graduation.
In addition to being able to meet on-site with 12 districts, applicants had the opportunity to do mock interviews, resume critiques and gather graduate program information from area universities. The mock interviews and resume critiques proved to be very popular as attendees stood in line for a chance to receive these services.
“We were excited to hold this education job fair for multiple reasons, first and foremost to provide a service to the districts and schools in our service area,” Tony Chiaramonte, Heartland AEA Human Resources Manager, said. “Our agency is aware of the high turnover rate in the teaching profession, especially during the first few years a teacher is in the classroom. We wanted to gather as many districts as we could in one place, so that educators can meet representatives from many districts at the same time and get a feel for what multiple districts have to offer. We want to be part of the solution and help keep new teachers from leaving the profession and from leaving Iowa by helping them find a district where they enjoy what they do.”
With the success of our inaugural event, we look forward to holding a second Career Fair next year. We hope to see you on March 2, 2016!
Find pictures of the event on our Facebook page.
Iowa's Area Education Agencies are seeking students who are interested in sharing their innovative projects and learning. Every year, about 80 board members from all of Iowa's AEAs gather for a two-day conference. AEA board members want to learn more about the unique and exciting learning that AEAs are supporting in Iowa's schools.
Students would set up a booth/table from 6:15-7:45 p.m. April 16 at the West Des Moines Marriott. Board members will have a 90-minute block of time to visit with students at their booths/tables. Each table will have room for a display board and physical artifacts (e.g., robots, things from a 3D printer, photos, whatever) and also will have electricity and Internet access. Some ideas include...
• VREP
• Robotics
• Lego League
• Makerspace
• Drones
• Minecraft
• Blogging
• QR codes
• Virtual reality
• Stop motion
• Social media projects (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.)
• Video projects
• Digital animation
• App creation
• ...anything that may not have a household name but that you've enjoyed and are anxious to share!
This would make addition to a college resume and is a great chance to enhance presentation skills. We will be capturing this event so it can be added to your portfolio and shared across the state/nation.
If you're interested in being a presenter, please contact Dr. Scott McLeod, dr.scott.mcleod@gmail.com.
