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

Get on the Bus and Certify Your Transportation Agreement by May 30

It’s time for districts to complete Step IV of the Request for Transportation Agreement process. Step IV certifies agreements and should be completed by May 30. Once districts have certified their agreements, the process is complete for 2016-17. Check your district’s status here.

Review the instructions and timelines for Step IV to complete the process. (The instructions for Step IV are also listed below.)

Instructions
1. Log in to your account at www.bit.ly/TransportationAgreements
2. Click Agreements
3. Click Certify
4. Follow screen prompts
5. Click Submit

For more information, contact Jenny Ugolini at (515) 270-0405 ext. 14441.

Van Delivery Continues During Summer - Schedule Announced

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 13 to August 5.
• Twice-a-week delivery will automatically continue to each building that has an extended year calendar.
• Regular fall van delivery resumes August 8.

Printing:

• Heartland AEA will contact the district to arrange for special delivery of large printing orders during the summer.

Order Student Planners Soon for Timely Delivery in the Fall

Quality and affordable student planners are available for your school through Heartland AEA’s Creative Services Department. Planners have a plastic front and back cover, coil binding and contain intro pages, planner pages, note pages and numerous reference and resource pages from which to choose. The planners include a full-year calendar to accommodate extended year schedules.

Visit our website to choose your preferred cover design, planner pages and reference pages from our set styles for planners. Optional pages, such as hall passes, can be added for an additional fee.

For a timely delivery in the fall, place your orders soon so they will be ready for the beginning of the school year.

For more information, contact the Heartland AEA Creative Services Department at (800) 255-0405 ext. 14368 or creativeservices@heartlandaea.org.

Keep Your Sloppy Joes, Salisbury Steak and Yesterday’s Meatloaf Safe With This School Food Safety Training

Created by the industry for the industry, ServSaf Food Safety Certification Training for School Foodservice provides knowledge every food service professional must know about food hazards and proper food handling practices in order to keep food safe in an establishment. AEA Purchasing is offering this training at Heartland AEA’s Ames office in August. It’s free for AEA purchasing members!

Food Safety Certification for School Foodservice 
Date: Aug. 10, 2016
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Location: Heartland AEA, 511 S. 17th St., Ames, IA
Registration Information
*FREE for AEA Purchasing members

Check Out the Speaker Lineup for Our Kids Summer Institute!

Mawi Asgedom, author and national motivational speaker, former child refugee and Harvard graduate

Paula Markus, Program Coordinator of the world’s largest ESL/ELD program

Andrea DeCapua, national expert and developer of the Mutually Adaptive Learning Paradigm (MALP®)

Linda New Levine and Laura Lukens, authors and national ELL experts, K-12 Go To Strategies

MaryAnn Strawhacker, MPH, R.N., Special Education Nurse Consultant, ELLs and Special Education issues, 504 and trauma

Deb Vail, Media/Instructional Technology Consultant and Google for Education Certified Trainer with educator-friendly technology tips and resources for ELLs

Izzy Schrock, Iman Darem, Stephen Wonbenyakeh, Amos Ceu, Noble Atubra, Diverse ELL Panel of First Person Voices (students)

Our Kids Summer Institute “Trip the Light”

Date: June 16-17, 2016

Location: Waukee High School, 555 SE University Ave., Waukee, IA

Conference brochure (for Heartland AEA participants)

Registration

Statewide Early Literacy Trainings Planned for August

Educators who have not participated in previous Formative Assessment for Teachers (FAST) or Individual Growth and Development Indicators (IGDI) trainings or individuals who would like to get a refresher on the administration process will be interested in these early literacy trainings scheduled in August.

Early Literacy Implementation - FAST Training
Date: Aug. 10, 2016
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Location: Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center, 833 5th Ave, Des Moines, IA
Registration Link

IGDI Training - Preschool Literacy Training
Date: Aug. 31, 2016
Time: 8:45 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Location: Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center, 833 5th Ave, Des Moines, IA
Registration Link

If you have specific training or logistic questions, contact Mark Crady or Mary Jane Stites.

Unique Opportunity to Attend Local Advanced Cognitive Coaching Training

Heartland AEA will be hosting Advanced Cognitive Coaching this summer. This is a unique opportunity to have this workshop offered in Iowa as the training typically takes place in Lake Tahoe or New York at a much higher cost. You’ll want to make every attempt to participate!

Carolee Hayes, one of the co-directors of Thinking Collaborative will lead the two-part training for those who have completed the eight-day foundation seminar and would like to achieve expert proficiency in Cognitive CoachingSM or for those who are starting the path to become an in-district trainer.

Participants will:

• Refine and extend core coaching capabilities and skills
• Develop skills with advanced forms of paraphrasing, probing for specificity and inquiring to mediate the thinking of others
• Expand the possibilities of and applications for our identities as mediators
• Frame personal coaching mastery as a journey, not a destination

Advanced Cognitive Coaching - Part I
Date: July 25-27, 2016
Location: Heartland AEA Regional Education Center, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston, IA
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Register here 

Advanced Cognitive Coaching - Part II
Date: Aug. 1-3, 2016
Location: Heartland AEA Regional Education Center, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston, IA
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Register here

Registration is limited to 30 people because of the individual, targeted feedback offered.

May 2016 BoEE Update

The Iowa Board of Educational Examiners May 2016 Newsletter includes topics such as elimination of printed licenses, renewal units for cooperating teachers, conditional licensure, case summaries and more.

Interested in Principal Licensure? Attend This Informational Meeting

You are invited to an informational meeting hosted by Iowa State University’s School of Education to learn more about the PreLEAD Program for Principal Licensure. PreLEAD is a 24-month program to earn a M. Ed. and/or PK-12 Principal/Special Education Supervisor Licensure. Read more about the program and faculty.

Date: May 25, 2016
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Location: DMACC, 2006 S. Ankeny Blvd, Ankeny, IA, Building 24, Room 106

Improve the Climate … the Culture … the Outcomes

Des Moines Public Schools is determined to improve school climate and culture through professional development, skill building and application of the best practices and research. Experts within the field of school improvement agree that a positive school climate and culture is key to any sustained student, school and district improvements.

You’re invited to participate in a special event, Aug. 8-9, 2016, to learn how this makes a difference in your classroom and school. The 1st Annual Summit on School Climate and Culture, at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, has been prepared to help you and your students benefit by this approach.

Visit the event website to learn more about the event, speakers, schedule and registration.

Great Topics Planned for the 2016 Special Education Symposium in Des Moines

The Special Education Symposium, which is a free event sponsored by the Iowa Department of Education, is June 13-14 and is intended for special education teachers, teacher leaders and mentors, Area Education Agency staff, administrators and families with students with disabilities.

Breakout sessions will include topics such as enhancements for early interventions, literacy and significant disabilities, improving adolescent literacy, leadership supports in special education, teaching social emotional skills, and addressing Specially Designed Instruction through diagnosis, design, delivery and engagement.

Keynote speakers

• Don Deshler, a nationally known expert in Specially Designed Instruction
• Todd Whitaker, who specializes in staff motivation for teachers and administrators
• Tim Harris, a 26-year-old with Down Syndrome who owns and runs his restaurant in Albuquerque, Ariz. He also runs a nonprofit, Tim’s Big Heart Foundation, which helps people with intellectual disabilities and their families.

Visit the event website for more information and to register.