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
As the school year winds down, so does our weekly Administrator Connection. Today is our last planned weekly update until August. We’ll communicate any important information via email during the summer.
If you’re leaving your district, contact the Heartland AEA Communications Department at comms@heartlandaea.org with your successor's name and email address (if known). We won't take your email address out of our email distribution list until after July 1.
Have a very enjoyable summer!
Heartland AEA vans will deliver twice a week to each district administration building during the summer months.
Schedule-to-date:
- Regular delivery ends June 13. Drivers will stop at each school even if school is out for the summer.
- Twice-a-week delivery to each district administration building runs June 14 to Aug. 10.
- Twice-a-week delivery will automatically continue to each building that has an extended year calendar.
- Regular fall van delivery resumes Aug. 14.
A summer route list will be available soon.
Remember you can always keep up-to-date this summer with Heartland AEA and statewide AEA happenings through our social media! Be sure to “follow” and “like” (and Share!) the following sites to stay updated with the latest news and information.
The state’s AEA system is offering four TLC related courses across the state to assist districts in their plans for TLC training this summer and into the upcoming year. Educators and administrators are welcome to attend the classes in any of the posted locations.
Registration is open until June 4 for the 13th Annual Our Kids Summer Institute for educators and administrators of English Learners. The event is going to be held June 13-14 at Waukee High School in Waukee. Register by June 4 at this link.
Educators will have the opportunity to network with other educational professionals, discover new strategies for working with English language learners in Iowa and meet national and local experts to enrich practices for increasing EL achievement.
Your featured speaker line-up includes:
- Trudy Arriaga, Ed.D. - Administrator leader and advocate for ELs, first female superintendent of Ventura Unified School District where she began as a bilingual paraeducator
- Fern Westernoff, Ph.D. - Speech language pathologist who earned her doctorate in ELL and merged two areas of expertise to inform her work in Toronto, the world’s largest K-12 EL population
- Amy Hewett-Olatunde, Ed.D. - Minnesota’s 2015 Teacher of the Year
- Major Sean Quinlan - Retired Major United States Marine Corp, ROTC Instructor at Des Moines’ North High School and former football coach featured with his team on ESPN during the 2017 Super Bowl and,
- Our amazing students!
Sessions will focus on:
- Serving English Learners with Disabilities
- Newcomer Considerations
- Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices
- ELs and Literacy Support
- Enhancing EL Instruction through Home Language Connections
- High Yield Strategies for ELs
- Successful District Programs
- First-person student voices
Registration
Registration is $150 and includes lunch, snacks, Go To Strategies, OELA Newcomer Toolkit and OELA English Learner Toolkit. Seating is limited to the first 500 registrants on a first-come, first-served basis. Bring a team! We hope to see you there!
Register by JUNE 4 at this link
Note for Teachers and Administrators in the Heartland AEA area: Title III will refund the cost of registration ($150), plus an honorarium of $200 (totaling $350) to off-contract individuals for full attendance and participation. Claim forms will be available at the event.
Note for districts implementing Corrective Action Plans (CAP) for English Learners: Districts are required to send a team in accordance with the Technical Assistance Requirement under Title III. Contact your AEA Title III Consultant for additional information and financial support.
June 28-30, 2017
Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center, Waterloo
Presenters
Dr. Linda Dorn, Dr. Salli Forbes, and Dr. Deb Rich
This three-day institute will offer details for designing a rigorous and challenging curriculum that includes research-based practices, differentiated instruction and scaffolding techniques to guarantee the literacy success of all students. Based on the professional work of Linda Dorn and Carla Soffos, the institute provides educators with a wealth of practical resources aligned with the Iowa Core and supported by theories of self-regulation and transfer.
Who Should Attend?
Partnerships in Comprehensive Literacy (PCL) Coaches, Coach Candidates, Administrators, Classroom Teachers, Title 1 Teachers, Interventionists, Special Education Teachers, Curriculum Directors, AEA Consultants, AEA Chief Administrators, Superintendents and others!
Registration
Fast-Track Iowa's Future Conference, “A Future Ready Iowa Conference to Make Work-Based Learning and STEM Work for You,” will feature new, emergent and established business-education partnerships transforming communities across Iowa and profiled in 11 panels and presentations, as well as dozens of snapshots of nationally recognized best practices happening in our state, and the inspiring story of Alliant Energy's commitment to education by keynote Patricia Kampling, Chairman, President and CEO.
June 20, 2017 — STEM EdChat Reception — from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Attendees will propose potential topics and break into groups to discuss those topics related to STEM and Work-Based Learning. Refreshments will be provided along with opportunities to network with other attendees.
June 21, 2017 — Fast Track Iowa's Future Conference — from 9:00 a.m. to 4:40 p.m. (an optional Regional Mingle will occur shortly after until 5:15 p.m.)
Iowa Events Center
730 3rd Street
Des Moines, IA 50309
Adults: $30
Students: $10
Or, register a K-12 educator and a business partner together and get one admission free!
For more information and to register, visit the Fast Track Iowa’s Future event website.
The Iowa Department of Education June 2017 School Leader Update is now available.
