Happy Holidays to You & Yours!

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Click the image for a holiday greeting from Heartland AEA! Warm wishes to you and your families throughout the holidays and in the coming year.

Winter Break Hours and Van Delivery Schedule

Please note the following schedule as you plan to place orders through Creative Services and send and receive items through our van mail.

All Heartland AEA offices will be closed to the public Dec. 23 through Jan. 2, 2017.

• Regular Van Delivery: Dec. 19-22
• No Van Delivery: Dec. 23-Jan. 2
• Regular Van Delivery Resumes: Jan. 3

Wishing you a happy holiday season from Heartland AEA!

Save the Date: Secondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) Initial Redesign Meeting

The initial planning meeting for the Heartland AEA Regional Career and Technical Education Partnership will be held on Jan. 6, 2017 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm at the DMACC Ankeny Campus (Building 5, Rooms 1240 E,D,F,G). All superintendents (or designee) are strongly encouraged to attend.

The partnership is being formed as required by HF 2392 in the Iowa Code to assist school districts in providing an effective, efficient and economical means of delivering high-quality secondary career and technical education programs.

During the initial meeting, an interim partnership will establish by-laws governing the group (e.g., committees, how it makes decisions, how the work is done, fiscal agent, etc.). View the draft template for the regional partnership bylaws.

• The longer-term purpose and function of the partnership includes the development of a multi-year plan. The plan is required to address:
• The processes and procedures by which all secondary CTE programs within the region will meet the state-developed program approval process
• The feasibility of developing centers within and across the regions to improve access to high-quality CTE and concurrent enrollment opportunities for all students

Developing a budget for the state vocational dollars assigned to the regional partnership that is tied to the multi-year plan

Save the Date: Secondary Career and Technical Education (CTE) Initial Redesign Meeting

Date: Jan. 6, 2017
Time: 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Location: Ankeny DMACC Campus, 2006 South Ankeny Boulevard, Ankeny
Building 5, DMACC Conference Center
Rooms 1240 E, D, F, G
Registration

ISFIS Budget Workshops Scheduled for 2017

Each year, ISFIS partners with Piper Jaffray and Iowa's Area Education Agencies to provide face-to-face budget workshops for business managers and superintendents. These hands-on workshops are an opportunity for leaders from each district to prepare their individual budgets in just one highly productive day. This year there will be an additional hour at the end of each session for districts who would like to stay and complete their 5-Year Financial Projection.

The ISFIS budget workshops at Heartland AEA are Jan. 23 and Feb. 15. Cost to attend is $250 per district. Register online.

Workshop participants will receive information about:

• Budget process, changes for the upcoming fiscal year, legislative update and other items of general budget interest.

• Unspent Authorized Budget portions reserved for categorical purposes and strategies to fully utilize categorical resources.

• Completed Certified Budget and strategies to set maximum certainty of property tax rate if SSA is not set by the publication deadline.

• Data and tools related to the budget process.

• Access to a district specific PowerPoint presentation based on the district’s certified budget file.

• District Specific 5-Year Financial Projection Plan including a Sample Working Line Item Budget Template.

• Unlimited phone and email support about the Certified Budget.

• Complimentary assistance if a district’s budget is appealed to the State Appeal Board.

For more information, contact Marissa Gaal at marissa@iowaschoolfinance.com or (515) 251-5970 ext. 4.

Mark Your Calendar For This Important Statewide AEA Event: Legislative Education Advocacy Day, Feb. 1-2, 2017

School administrators from across Iowa will come together to network, learn the most up-to-date legislative insight and meet face-to-face with legislators at the Iowa Capitol, Feb. 1-2, 2017. Learn more about ESSA from Iowa Department of Education Director Dr. Ryan Wise as well as current education issues from Iowa education legislative liaisons, then, meet with your local legislators. For more information and to register, visit this site.

Keynoter Announced for Celebrating Iowa’s Success Conference

PRESS Senior Literacy Specialist for the Minnesota Center for Reading Research and educator Kathy Patton will keynote Celebrating Iowa’s Success Conference on Jan. 23, 2017, at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines. In her keynote, Kathy will share effective components of an intervention and essential elements needed for student growth.

Joining Kathy in the program is Scott Slechta, 2016 Iowa Teacher of the Year, who will discuss the role of a teacher as a reading teacher in all disciplines; how educators teach reading skills for both informational text and literary text, and how the goal as teachers is to instill the love of reading for information and for entertainment.

Celebrating Iowa’s Success!
Date: Jan. 23, 2017
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Location: Iowa Events Center, 730 Third Street, Des Moines
Register: Register at this link by Jan. 9, 2017
Target audience: District / Building Administrators, Classroom Teacher Reading, Reading Support Teacher, Instructional Coach

For more information, contact Mary Jane Stites or Mark Crady, Coordinators of C4K Training Cadre, at mstites@heartlandaea.org or mcrady@heartlandaea.org.

DMACC Ames Center Surplus

DMACC Ames Center has the following surplus items available. If interested, contact Julie Klocke with DMACC Purchasing at jaklocke1@dmacc.edu.

190 black stackable chairs

Capitol Girls Helps Girls in Grades 7-12 Experience Government in Action

In partnership with the Girl Scouts, the Iowa Department of Human Rights' Office on the Status of Women hosts an annual event for girls in grades 7-12 throughout Iowa called Capitol Girls. On Feb. 9, 2017, girls from across Iowa will convene in Des Moines at the Iowa State Capitol to learn about the workings of the Iowa General Assembly and will have an opportunity to meet with the Lt. Governor, female legislators, and other key government leaders to learn about how state laws and budgets are developed and passed. For more information, click here for the 2017 Capitol Girls flyer, visit the Girl Scouts website or email women@iowa.gov.

Interim Study of Iowa’s Teacher Leadership System Shows Positive Results

The first school districts to launch teacher leadership plans through Iowa’s Teacher Leadership and Compensation System reported a positive impact on educators’ professional climate and classroom instruction, according to an interim evaluation report released by the Iowa Department of Education.

Teachers and administrators in the first 115 school districts chosen to launch teacher leadership plans – 39 districts in the 2014-15 school year and 76 in 2015-16 – reported greater availability, frequency and quality of teacher leadership roles, support through professional development, and collaboration among teachers compared to school districts that had not yet entered the system. Teachers and administrators also reported the system had improved instruction, teacher satisfaction and professional climate. Read the full report here.

Input Sought on Draft Social Studies Standards

Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise announced he’s seeking input from Iowans on a draft of proposed statewide social studies standards for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Online survey is open through Jan. 9 and public forums will seek feedback on the draft standards. The online survey is available at the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RLVQ52P. Iowans also can provide feedback at three public forums, either in person at three different sites across the state or remotely from satellite sites using video conferencing. The public forum sites and dates are located on the Department’s website.