Our Mission
To improve the learning outcomes and well-being of all children and youth by providing services and leadership in partnership with families, schools and communities.
Our Goals
- Increase learning growth for students
- Decrease the gap in achievement
- Increase annual graduation rates
- Increase gateways to post-secondary success
Most of this information can be found on our website under Instructional Services > Leadership Development & Supports > Leadership Networks.
Heartland Administrators’ Association Meetings
The Heartland Area Administrators’ (HAA) typically meet the first Tuesday of each month. The agenda items are both informational and professional learning driven for superintendents based on feedback from the Superintendent Advisory Council. For meeting agendas and materials, go to the HAA Google Site.
HAA Chair: Deron Durflinger, Van Meter
Meeting dates/location for 2016-2017:
- Sept. 6, 2016: Heartland AEA, 6500 Corporate Drive, Rooms 107 A and B
- Oct. 4, 2016: Hilton Garden Inn, Conference Center, 8600 Northpark Dr., Johnston, IA
- Nov. 1, 2016: Hilton Garden Inn, Conference Center, 8600 Northpark Dr., Johnston, IA
- Dec. 6, 2016: Hilton Garden Inn, Conference Center, 8600 Northpark Dr., Johnston, IA
- Jan. 3, 2017: NO MEETING
- Feb. 1 and 2: Location TBD, Meeting in conjunction with statewide superintendent advocacy day
- March 7, 2017: Hilton Garden Inn, Conference Center, 8600 Northpark Dr., Johnston, IA
- April 4, 2017: Heartland AEA, 6500 Corporate Drive, Rooms 107 A and B
- May 2, 2017: Heartland AEA, 6500 Corporate Drive, Rooms 107 A and B
*New this year*
Heartland Administrators’ Association meetings paired with Corwin professional development HAA members have expressed interest in earning recertification or graduate credit in conjunction with monthly meetings. To meet this interest, Heartland is pleased to be partnering with Corwin to bring a learning series to area schools that occurs on the same date as the monthly superintendent meetings. Superintendents are invited to attend a business meeting on these dates from 8:30 - 9:15 a.m. with the institute beginning at 9:30 a.m. Registration for credit or additional team members will be available soon.
Save the Dates: Visible Learning Institute and Deep Equity Overview
John Hattie’s work has fundamentally changed what we know about what works in education. Through a partnership with Corwin, Heartland AEA is pleased to bring the Visible Learning Institute to area schools. The Visible Learning Plus program includes a three-part foundational series of seminars in which participants learn about Hattie’s work and the Visible Learning approach.
Visible Learning Institute - Time: 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
- Oct. 4, 2016 -- Learning strand designed to provide area school leadership teams an opportunity to review and discuss effective instructional practices that impact student achievement and learning.
- Nov. 1, 2016 --Review of 5 phases of the Deep Equity process for creating culturally responsive teaching.
- Dec. 6, 2016 --Evidence into Action Part One: Continuation of Visible Learning Institute with an emphasis on leadership actions which have the greatest impact on student outcomes.
- March. 7, 2017 -- Evidence into Action Part Two: Continuation of Visible Learning Institute with an emphasis on data analysis and management of change strategies.
Superintendents’ Advisory Council
The Superintendent Advisory Council (SAC) members help advise agenda items for HAA meetings and serve as a liaison for Heartland AEA regions. The Superintendents’ Advisory Council (SAC) meets quarterly from 8:00 - 8:45 a.m. at Heartland AEA, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston, in conference room 109.
SAC Members
Region 1 & 2 Deron Durflinger, Van Meter
Region 3 Delane Galvin, Southeast Warren
Region 4 Thomas Ahart, Des Moines
Region 5 Lisa Remy, West Des Moines
Region 6 Bruce Kimpston, Ankeny, Chair
Region 7 Ottie Maxey, Ballard
Region 8 Shane Ehresman, Lynnville-Sully
Region 8 Bryce Amos, Carlisle
Non-Public Schools Cade Lambert, Des Moines Christian
Community Colleges Rob Denson, DMACC
The meeting dates for 2016-17 are the following:
- Sept. 6, 2016
- Dec. 6, 2016
- Feb. 7, 2017
- April 4, 2017
Curriculum Network
The Curriculum Network meets from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. on the first Friday of every month, Sept. through May, in Conference Rooms 107A & B at the Heartland AEA, 6500 Corporate Drive in Johnston.
The meeting dates for 2016-17 are the following:
- Sept. 2, 2016
- Oct. 7, 2016
- Nov. 4, 2016
- Dec. 2, 2016
- Jan. 6, 2017
- Feb. 3, 2017
- March 3, 2017
- April 7, 2017
- May 5, 2017
For meeting agendas, handouts and other important documents, visit: Curriculum Network Google Site.
For more information about the Curriculum Network, contact your regional director or Kevin Fangman, Executive Director of District Services, at kfangman@heartlandaea.org or (800) 255-0405 ext. 14374.
After the 2010 US Census, the AEAs contracted with the University of Iowa to develop director district maps for all schools in Iowa. Once finalized, printed versions were distributed to every district.
Your board of education director districts are still available and can be accessed through this link. These are not maps of your school district legal boundaries. These are maps of your board of education director districts. If you're looking for boundary maps, those can be found on the Iowa Department of Education’s website here.
If you have questions, contact Jennifer Ugolini, Board Secretary, Heartland AEA at jugolini@heartlandaea.org or (515) 270-9030 ext. 14441.
Instructional leaders play a critical role in the Iowa Science Standards implementation process. The purpose of this document is to introduce principals to the Iowa Science Standards and to provide a general overview of the key instructional and conceptual shifts required by the Iowa Science Standards.
Administrative teams with questions remaining about your district's Lau Plan for meeting needs of English Learners are invited to attend this workshop for additional support prior to the upload. Refer to the Lau Plan Checklist and Lau Plan Guidance Document for additional support.
Support for Revising 2016-2017 District Lau Plans
Date: Sept. 6, 2016
Time: 1:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Location: Heartland AEA, Regional Education Center, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston, IA
Register here
Dr. Jobi Lawrence and Colleen Anderson from the Iowa Department of Education asked the Title III Consultants to share the following information with districts related to TELPA Training, ordering of TELPA materials and TELPA Administration for the 2016-17 school year.
TELPA Training for 2016-17
Please ensure that anyone administering the TELPA for the upcoming academic year certifies on the training system on AEA PD Online, as the training has been updated to reflect changes in ordering and submitting scores due to the change in vendor. Iowa Testing Programs is no longer able to serve as our vendor for TELPA, and this has precipitated these changes.
From: Dr. Jobi B. Lawrence, Director, Title III, Iowa Department of Education, (515) 281-3805.
TELPA Assessment Administrators Must Recertify
Anyone administering the Tennessee English Language Placement Assessment (TELPA) assessment during the 2016-17 academic year must recertify through training on AEA PD Online. Even if a certificate states it is valid for three years, there have been changes to TELPA ordering and data reporting and everyone must recertify this year to ensure that the program remains in compliance with federal requirements. Visit the Heartland AEA website for more information about TELPA.
Ordering the TELPA
Dr. Lawrence states to please see the message below from Colleen Anderson related to changes in the TELPA for the upcoming administration year. PLEASE broadly distribute the information below to your schools and colleagues.
- Beginning July 1, 2016, any districts wishing to order the TELPA screener should place the order directly with Measurement Incorporated (MI) instead of going through IA Testing Programs.
- TELPA can only be ordered online. It is sold in packs of 10 and includes all the support materials needed.
- If you would like to place an order or have any other questions, please contact the TELPA Helpline at (888) 612-0180 or elda@measinc.com. MI will provide you with the credentials for your district as well as directions on how to place an order on the TELPA website
TELPA Administration
1. Download the correct bubble answer sheet (BAS).
TELPA K-2 Answer Sheet
TELPA 3-12 Answer Sheet
2. Score the screeners locally
3. Complete the Score Reporting Template to enter student information and TELPA scores. Save each file with a standard name (e.g. Ames_072716 (District name_Date)).
4. Log into the State of Iowa Secure email (https://securemail.iowa.gov/). Your name will be your email associated with your EdPortal A&A account (not your Account ID), your password is your A&A account password. Not sure of your A&A email, login to the portal (https://portal.ed.iowa.gov), click on ‘My Profile’ in the upper right-hand corner and review your email in the center of the screen. If you receive an error, when logging in please contact the EdPortal help desk at (515) 725-2040 or by email ated.portal@iowa.gov.
5. After logging in to Secure Email, click on ‘Compose Mail’ in the upper left corner. Enter Ed.portal@iowa.gov in the ‘To’ field, in the Subject field enter your district name and the word TELPA (e. g. Ames TELPA).
6. Click on ‘Attach’ and ‘choose file’ to select the file created in step one. Click on Upload.
7. Click on ‘Send’ to send your email.
From: Colleen Anderson, Student Assessment, Iowa Department of Education, (515) 281-3249.
The information below has also been updated on the DE website and is reflected in the updated TELPA training module. The link to the DE website for all of this information is: https://www.educateiowa.gov/english-language-proficiency-assessment-21st-century-elpa-21
Conditional Exiting of English Learners and How to Order the TELPA Screener
The Iowa Department of Education has released a webinar with timely guidance for districts on ordering the TELPA screener and the conditional exiting of students. Share this webinar widely with those who will depend on accurate information in your district.
Iowa Culture and Language Conference
Coralville Marriott Hotel & Conference Center
Coralville, Iowa
Nov. 15-16, 2016
Conference Registration
Early Bird Registration (ends Oct. 15): $145
Pre-Registration (Oct. 16-Nov. 9): $175
District participants and administrators in the EL Leadership Academy are encouraged to register during the Early Bird window to avoid additional registration costs.
Pre-Conference
Nov. 14, 2016Registration Rate for Nov. 14 ONLY: $140
Send Teams!
Plan to send teams of ESL and non-ESL educators. In addition, per recent Iowa Department of Education guidance, district teams that were required to write Corrective Action Plans (CAPs) in 2015-16 will still be required to attend a special CAP session at ICLC, however no new districts will get added to the CAP List in 2016-17.
Heartland AEA will provide the following support through district reimbursement following the conference Claim forms will be available at the conference):
- Registration fees for both the pre-conference and conference
- Sub costs
- Flat amount to districts to defray mileage and hotel costs ($100 per participant)
Registration and additional information for the Iowa Culture and Language Conference is located at iowaclc.com.
Digital citizenship is a fundamental aspect of being a student, teacher and administrator in PK-12 schools. To that end, Heartland AEA is hosting a Digital Citizenship professional development opportunity on Sept. 13. Sessions will provide teachers and administrators with ideas, information, resources and inspiration to help guide their schools through the many facets of digital citizenship. Ryan Wise, director of the Iowa Department of Education, will provide opening remarks and sessions will focus around Mike Ribble's Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship.
Date: Sept. 13, 2016
Time: 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Location: Heartland AEA Regional Education Center, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston, IA
Register here
Elementary Building Leadership Teams across Heartland AEA are invited to join this workshop to deepen their understanding in Iowa's Big Rocks:
- Effective leadership team traits
- The interconnectedness of Chapter 62/Early Literacy Initiative (ELI), Teacher Leadership Compensation (TLC), Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), Differentiated Accountability (DA), Collaborating for Kids (C4K), and Standards and Curriculum
- Building consensus with staff and constituents
- The use of C4K school improvement tools.
This opportunity will assist teams in moving forward from the summer TLC-C4K events on June 20 and Aug. 1, however attendance at those leadership sessions is not required for this day.
Date: Sept. 29, 2016
Time: 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Location: Heartland AEA, Regional Education Center, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston, Iowa
Registration here
As you consider how to meet your Digital Citizenship needs and Professional Development needs in general, take a minute to review these resources from AEA PD Online. If your district or teachers are interested in learning more, contact Denise Krefting at dkrefting@aeapdonline.org.
Teacher Training Center
There are staff trainings in AEA PD Online’s Teacher Training center that many districts have used to support teacher learning for their PLCs, to blend district professional development or to allow staff to have more of a self-paced, self-learning professional development. Many districts are having their teachers take the Digital Citizenship self-paced trainings and then their students are taking similar content in the Student Personalized Learning system.
Student Learning System
AEA PD Online has a Student Personalized Learning System http://learning.aeak12online.org/ that teachers can use with students such as Digital Citizenship, Physical Science, Employability, Energy, Agriculture and so much more.
The Special Education Statewide Procedures Manual (Aug. 1, 2016), Release Notes (Aug. 1, 2016 version), Parental Rights Summary (July 2015 version), Procedural Safeguards Manuals for Parents (Translations), Educational Evaluation Reports (Translations) and IEP Forms (Translations) are now posted on the Iowa IDEA website. These documents are currently posted on the front page of the IDEA website in addition to their permanent location under the IEP drop down menu > Statewide Special Education Procedures > Manual.
Prairie Rivers of Iowa, in partnership with the Living Roadway Trust Fund, is kicking off a new grant initiative around building outdoor learning environments all across Iowa. The new grant program’s main goal is to create unique outdoor learning spaces that will work well for local communities and their residents. The Outdoor Learning Environment (OLE) grant program is separated into three phases. The three phases are designed to create a process in which community support is gathered, planning and design are done and implementation of the outdoor learning environment project is built. Support from the Outdoor Learning Environment Coordinator will be provided along the way. Visit www.prrcd.org/olegrant or review this resource guide for more details.
The Iowa Department of Education has developed a new webpage to help teachers, school administrators and parents prepare for a transition to new statewide assessments in English language arts and mathematics. The site will be an important source of information during this transition and will be updated regularly with information and resources. Currently, you’ll find overview information about why Iowa is switching to a new state assessment, answers to common questions, links to practice tests and a timeline for professional learning. The Department is also offering talking points that you may find helpful if questions arise within your communities.
