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
Heartland AEA is
partnering with other AEAs this year to implement an electronic version
of the Request for Transportation Approval form.
Chapter
285.9(3), Code of Iowa, requires the Area Education Agency Board of
Directors to approve all bus routes outside the boundary of the school
district operating the buses. This has been interpreted to mean regular
routes and regular special education routes, not field trips or activity
trips.
The Code requires you to request permission from your
neighboring district(s) before your bus route crosses district
boundaries. The approval form
that was used last fall has been converted to an electronic process for
ease and efficiency. Video tutorials are included in the instructions
to help explain the new process, which is very user-friendly.
Please
note the new timeline this year. Last year, and in previous years, the
process was always completed in the fall of the current school year.
However, we are asking that the process be completed this spring for the
upcoming year.
Please review the attached instructions and timeline below. Questions can be directed to Jennifer Ugolini, Board Secretary at jugolini@heartlandaea.org or (515) 270-9030 ext. 14441.
Timeline:
• April 20 – May 22, complete steps 1-3
• May 25 – June 5, complete step 4
• September 1 – September 30, complete step 5
As you may know, Iowa’s Collaborating for Kids (C4K) is again making available for interested districts and non-public schools, training opportunities on the use of Iowa TIER and early literacy screening tools: Formative Assessment System for Teachers (FAST for K-6 students) and the Individual Growth and Development Indicators (IGDIs for preschool students).
The registration window is open until May 8.
All details, including dates, locations and registration links, are available on the Department’s Early Literacy Implementation webpage.
The May 2015 issue of the School Leader Update is available from the Iowa Department of Education. This issue includes new information on early literacy implementation (p. 2); summer options offered at no charge by Iowa Learning Online (p. 2); and registration details for summer conferences you may be interested in, including a literacy summit (p. 1) and a professional learning opportunity for those who work with English Language Learners (p. 4).
The May 2015 issue of the Each and Every Child newsletter is available from the Iowa Department of Education. This issue examines a program that teacher parents to be educators. The newsletter will resume in Fall 2015.
For the past 11 years, the Our Kids Summer Institute has provided a high-quality professional development opportunity for teachers and administrators who work with English learners. Historically, premier presenters from the U.S and Canada have shared their expertise, networking opportunities and multicultural experiences have been provided and various conference strands have met a range of needs and interests among participants.
In addition, Our Kids prides itself on highlighting cultures of students and families in Iowa by incorporating culturally and linguistically diverse voices in panels, cultural performances, planning, etc.
Speakers at this year’s event will include:
Clemencia Spizzirri: Iowa's 2015 Teacher of the Year (Spanish teacher at Merrill Middle School in Des Moines) Iowa’s first Teacher of the Year who was an ELL, herself!
Dr. Ryan Nelson of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette: Fostering Strengths and Resilience in Reluctant Learners: Literacy instruction for Children with Differences
Dr. Kristiina Montero of Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada: Teaching Reading to Adolescent ELLs with Limited or Interrupted Formal Education
Daphne Germain: Senior Director of ELL Services and Professional Development for Boston Public Schools
Dates: June 16 & 17, 2015
Location: Waukee High School
Activity Number: ES009168221601
Teacher leaders within the Heartland AEA area may want to check out the Teacher Leadership Professional Development Google Site which provides direct links to professional learning opportunities for teacher leaders. There is also an Agora Site managed by the state that allows teachers and principals to see the professional learning opportunities being offered statewide.
We are excited to announce a professional development opportunity for school teams and AEA staff - Showcase of PBIS Systems and Practices
–happening May 6 at the DMACC Ankeny FFA Enrichment Center. We will
have content related to a variety of topics and age/grade levels. The
presentation will showcase local schools sharing examples of systems and
practices that have been effective within the Heartland AEA area.
Scheduled topics include:
- Restructuring of PBIS Leadership team to align with TLC grant (within an MTSS system)
- Building Relationships
Community Involvement
- Family Involvement in an Early Childhood setting
- Sustainability of PBIS practices
- Implementation at the Middle School level
- Tier 2 Systems at the Elementary level
- Evidence-based practices in Tier 3
- Building consensus and involving students in a High School PBIS system
Target Audience: Schools
interested in learning more about implementing MTSS systems for behavior
and teams already implementing PBIS
Registration is now open.
Students are served with an Individual Education Program (IEP) for various educational needs. Some students are eligible for services in multiple goal areas. But did you know that a student with an IEP can simultaneously fall under another umbrella - that of gifted and talented? This subgroup of students, known as twice-exceptional or “2e”, is under-identified and underserved in schools.
Twice-exceptional learners are defined as follows by authors Sally Reis, Susan Baum, and Edith Burke in the June 2014 edition of Gifted Child Quarterly:
"Twice-exceptional learners are students who demonstrate the potential for high achievement or creative productivity in one or more domains such as math, science, technology, the social arts, the visual, spatial, or performing arts or other areas of human productivity AND who manifest one or more disabilities as defined by federal or state eligibility criteria.
These disabilities and high abilities combine to produce a unique population of students who may fail to demonstrate either high academic performance or specific disabilities. Their gifts may mask their disabilities and their disabilities may mask their gifts."
Few teachers are aware of the possibility of overlap in the populations of special education students and gifted students. As a result, twice-exceptional students fall through the cracks of both systems and lack access to the appropriate educational services they need.
The West Des Moines Community School District is working to address this issue with professional development for their teachers on May 21. A parent session is scheduled for 7 p.m. on May 21 at Raccoon River Park Nature Lodge, 2500 Grand Avenue, West Des Moines. The evening session is open to all parents (and educators) in the Heartland AEA area who wish to know more about supporting students who are twice exceptional. Contact Kristine Milburn at (515) 633-4052 or milburnk@wdmcs.org if you have questions about the WDMCS event.
For further guidance on supporting your 2e students, contact a Parent and Education Connection Coordinator who serves your district.
