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
This is a reminder about the new transportation agreement request procedure. Please complete steps 1-3 by today Friday, May 22. Please review the attached instructions and the short overview. Questions can be directed to Jennifer Ugolini, Board Secretary at jugolini@heartlandaea.org or (515) 270-9030 ext. 14441.
Heartland AEA vans will deliver twice a week to each district administration building during the summer months. If you have summer school, professional development programs or intercessions and you would like regularly scheduled deliveries to additional buildings, please email Colleen Miller at colleen_miller@heartlandaea.org.
Schedule-to-date:
- Twice-a-week delivery to each district administration building runs June 15 to August 7.
- Twice-a-week delivery will automatically continue to each building that has an extended year calendar.
- Regular fall van delivery resumes August 10.
Printing:
- Heartland AEA will contact the district to arrange for special delivery of large printing orders during the summer.
Heartland AEA will be offering the 6-day paraeducator ESL certification class this summer. Please let your associates who work with ELLs know about this opportunity. Title III funds will provide a stipend of $300 for all paraeducators who work with ELLs, who fulfill the course requirements and who are currently employed by a public or non-public K-12 school in the Heartland AEA area. (This option is not available for employees of Des Moines Public Schools).
Paraeducator: Area of Concentration: English as a Second Language (ESL)
Dates: July 14-16 and 21-23, 2015
Location Johnston REC
Activity Number: PP001892111601
Questions can be directed to Pam Childers at pchilders@heartlandaea.org.
Districts which are in years 2+ of corrective action, due to not meeting Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives (AMAOs), are required to send a team (e.g. district administrator, ESL teacher, content or grade-level teachers, counselor) to the Our Kids Summer Institute on June 16-17, where support will be provided in writing/refining your district Corrective Action Plans (CAP) at the session reserved for this purpose.
Registration is open!
An excellent line-up of keynote and break-out sessions will also support meeting district goals for improving the achievement of English Learners.
We look forward to seeing you and your team there! Please encourage both ESL and non-ESL staff to register for Our Kids. Heartland AEA Title III funds will provide a $200 stipend to individual participants who attend both days to offset the cost of registration, with reimbursement claim forms available at the event on day 2.
Award applications can be found on the Iowa School Counselors Association website. Applications are due by September 15, 2015.
ISCA 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award Nominations
This recognition is given to an individual who has made major contributions to the school counseling profession in the state of Iowa. Nominate someone who has made a substantial and long-term commitment to the school counseling profession.
Gary Henrichs Award/Grant
The Iowa School Counselor Association invites K-12 school counselors to apply for this award. It has been established by the family of Gary Henrichs to acknowledge outstanding elementary school counselors in Iowa. This award/grant may be used by the recipient in any way he/she sees fit to help continue his/her work with the school children of Iowa. This award/grant will be presented at the annual ISCA Conference.
John L. Thompson Award/Grant
The Iowa School Counselor Association invites K-12 school counselors to apply for the John L. Thompson Award for Excellence in School Counseling. The award program is designed to recognize counselors who have developed exemplary programs to help students grow in academic and/or life skills.
Questions can be directed to Troy Bergmann at tbergmann@north-cedarstu.org or (563) 452-3179.
Do you know someone who deserves to be named Iowa’s 2015 School Counselor of the Year?
Think of a counseling colleague… someone with whom you work, from whom you find support, whose counseling program supports the ASCA standards, who goes that extra mile to support students, who makes a true difference and is a credit to the school counseling profession. Doesn’t this individual deserve state-wide recognition by his/her peers?!?
Then take a few minutes and nominate a counselor by submitting an application for an 2015 Iowa School Counselor of the Year Award. Nominating is easy! Please go to the Iowa School Counselor Association website and complete a short, one page nomination form.
The nomination form asks for basic contact information as well as for the ISCA (School Counseling Association) – please just mark “Iowa” in that box! Your nominee will receive an immediate notification via email and will be asked to complete the on-line application process. No nominations will be accepted after August 15, 2015. Applications must be completed by September 15, 2015. All nominees must be a member of ISCA as of September 15, 2015.
The application procedure is also detailed at the ISCA website under Awards and Grants. Feel free to contact Troy Bergmann at tbergmann@north-cedarstu.org or (563) 452-3179 with questions regarding the nomination and/or application process.
There have been several
requests across the state seeking registration information for the
Journey to Excellence Mentor Facilitator Training. This training is for
those individuals who organize and facilitate the Mentor & Induction
program either at their AEA or district staff that currently hold those
positions or aspire to do so. This year’s training is funded through
the AEA TLC funds and ISEA NEA grant funds. Learn more below about the
training and where to register.
The Journey to Excellence program
offers many strong areas of focus: 1) it clearly focuses on effective
teaching using the Iowa Teaching Standards as defined in A Framework for
Understanding the Iowa Teaching Standards and Criteria, 2) it prepares
experienced educators to serve as mentors and 3) it provides learning
opportunities for mentors to use with beginning educators.
Furthermore,
a focus is directed to understand the relationship between the Iowa
Teaching Standards and comprehensive evaluation. This relationship helps
establish a “firewall” between mentor and evaluator by acknowledging
the confidential relationship between the beginning educator and the
mentor.
Compared to other programs, the benefits are twofold:
for the beginning educator, a qualified teacher is created; for the
mentor, a teacher leader is created.
Journey to Excellence Mentor Facilitator Training
Dates: June 23-June 27, 2015 (webinar support dates will be held throughout the school year for implementation assistance)
Location: Stoney Creek Conference Center (5291 Stoney Creek Ct, Johnston)
Registration: http://www.cvent.com/d/qrq0rr
Heartland AEA will offer
Section 504 trainings to districts in fall of 2015. Sites will include
Ames, Johnston, Adel and Colfax. Trainings are open to all schools
within the Heartland AEA area, but the primary standard taught will be
free and appropriate public education. Districts are encouraged to send
teams consisting of counselors, administrators and school nurses and to
bring their district 504 manual (plan). The courses are offered at no
charge to Heartland AEA districts.
Topics to be covered include:
- Changes to the interpretation of Section 504 since the ADAA 2008
- How to review and update your district-wide Section 504 Plan
- The interaction of a Section 504 plan and an Individual Health Plan
- Review of obligations under the Child Find and grievance procedures
- Evaluation requirements
- Eligibility determination and eligible but not in need of a plan
- Section 504 vs. IDEA 2004, understanding the distinction
- Resources available to assist districts including, access to a Section 504 Google Site
Choice of Location and Dates (Space is limited so register soon):
Colfax
Colfax Historical Building (1720 IA 117, Colfax)
September 15
9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Activity Number: NU002599991601
Ames
Heartland AEA Ames Office, Iowa Main Conference Rooms (511 S. 17th St.)
September 17
9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Activity Number: NU002592111601
Johnston
Heartland AEA Johnston REC, Rooms 107 A&B (6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston)
September 22
9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Activity Number: NU002592111602
Adel
Heartland AEA Adel Office (602 Visions Parkway, Adel)
September 29
9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Activity Number: NU002592111603
Questions can be directed to MaryAnn Strawhacker MPH, RN, Section 504 Consultant and Special Education Nurse Consultant at mstrawhacker@heartlandaea.org.
