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
Quality and affordable student plannersare available for your school through Heartland AEA’s Creative Services Department. Planners can help some students feel more engaged and aware of school events, activities and projects. Visit our websiteto choose your planner style from the many options we offer. Place your order by May 1, 2018 to ensure delivery by the beginning of the next school year. For more information, contact the Heartland AEA Creative Services Department at (800) 255-0405 ext. 14368 or creativeservices@heartlandaea.org.
Drake University has offered to the host the May 1 SAC and HAA meetings in Collier-Scripps Hall on campus. This is a new building located closer to Forest Avenue than University. Due to campus construction, you'll want to allow extra time for parking and use this Drake Parking Pass to access any Commuter Parking Lot at Drake University. Superintendents' Advisory Council (SAC) May 1, 2018 8:00 - 8:45 a.m. Drake University (Campus Map) 2507 University Avenue, Des Moines Collier-Scripps Hall, Room 235 Drake Parking Pass Agenda Heartland Administrators' Association (HAA) May 1, 2018 9:00 -11:30 a.m. Drake University (Campus Map) 2507 University Avenue, Des Moines Collier-Scripps Hall, Room 235 Drake Parking Pass Agenda Zoom link: https://heartlandaea.zoom.us/j/963780423 Drake Parking Pass Instructions Print the parking pass, as it will need to be visible on your dashboard. Allow extra time to park, as construction season has begun. Drake Parking Pass - Remember to print!
Click on Link
Click on Select Time for the drop box to appear. Select Tuesday, May 1
This information was shared with District Managers and should also be shared with appropriate district and building administrators. As you’re aware, Iowa’s Area Education Agencies are subsidizing costs for districts to upgrade their DE provided FastBridge (FAST) subscriptions to include additional functionality in the areas of mathematics and behavior. Your district indicated its interest in participating in a pilot of this subscription program, beginning in Spring 2018. Iowa’s AEA system has had many requests to produce FastBridge Math materials that include K-1 EarlyMath student materials and CBMMath Process student materials and teacher forms for grades 2-6. Grant Wood AEA has agreed to handle all the printing and shipping of these materials. Progress Monitoring student materials will be available in late summer. If your school or district is interested in these materials, you may place an order using this order form. Please complete the top section, select the items and quantities needed and place the order using one of the methods listed at the bottom of the form. Orders will be shipped to you through FedEx. For questions regarding ordering, printing and distribution, contact Tara Johannsen at Grant Wood AEA at tjohannsen@gwaea.org.
Keystone AEA's Premier Education Conference - KPEC 2018 will be held on June 18-19 at the Grand River Center in Dubuque. The two-day conference, “Breaking Barriers: Challenging the Boundaries of Learning,” provides enlightening and entertaining opportunities to connect with peers, hear keynote addresses from nationally-recognized speakers, Dr. Buddy Berry and LaVonna Roth, and choose from dozens of breakout sessions covering five focus areas:
The Whole Child
Special Education
Technology
Leadership
Curriculum Content Areas
Registration Register before May 1 to take advantage of the early bird discount price of $109. Starting May 1 the cost to register is $139. All registration fees include breakfast, lunch and snacks. There will be no refunds after May 31. For more information about the conference, contact Tiffany Kuhens at (800) 632-5918 or tkuhens@aea1.k12.ia.us.
Jennifer Riedemann, Consultant for Student Assessment, will be facilitating a webinar on May 1 from 3:30 - 4:15 p.m. to introduce the ELPA21 Dynamic Screener. Here is a link to additional information about the webinar.
The Dynamic Screener webinar on May 1 is scheduled at the same time as the final ESOL Advisory for the year. To allow educators of English learners (ELs) to attend the live webinar, the ESOL Advisory Meeting is postponed until May 17, 2018 from 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. in Room 123 at Heartland AEA in Johnston. At that time, Title III mini-grant recipients will be presenting short oral summaries to explain how purchased materials were utilized to develop language while providing ELs access to the CORE and/or to increase EL parent/family involvement.
Heartland AEA is pleased to once again offer an additional course option for administrators and/or evaluators who want to renew their evaluator license. The Collaborative Leadership Institute is a two credit hour course that will be held on June 28-29, Oct. 12 and Dec. 13, 2018 at Heartland AEA in Adel. Heartland AEA and Corwin partnered in the design of the Evaluator Approval Training pilot last year with the assistance of Peter DeWitt, Ed.D., and his work onCollaborative Leadership, which is grounded in the Visible Learning research of education expert John Hattie, on the most influential and impactful leadership practices shown to accelerate student learning. In the Institute, Dr. Dewitt will unpack six leadership factors of Collaborative Leadership, painting a powerful scheme to meet stakeholders where they are, motivate stakeholders to strive for improvement and model how to do it. Registration Register at this link The course is open to anyone in Iowa. Seating is limited to 50 people. Questions For any other questions, contact Jim Verlengia, Ed.D., Director of Leadership Supports with Heartland AEA at jverlengia@heartlandaea.org or (515) 270-0405 ext. 14388.
The Heartland AEA 2018-19 Leadership Series is presented by some of today’s most intriguing, innovative and influential leaders from around the country who will share their background, insight and knowledge with you. Speakers will candidly share their experiences, discuss challenges that have impacted their work and provide a unique opportunity for you to learn from their hands-on experiences. Registration is now open for the five-session series that begins this fall. Some sessions are designated for superintendents and some are open to any educator. Sept. 4, 2018 Kevin Honeycutt - Midnight Run Oct. 2, 2018 Brad Waid - Transforming the Classroom through Augmented Reality Nov. 6, 2018 Shannon Suldo, Ph.D. - Positive Psychology Interventions in Schools Jan. 8, 2019 Anthony Muhammad, Ph.D. - Transforming School Culture through PLCs March 5, 2019 Trevor Ragan - Teaching a Growth Mindset to Achieve Success for All Learners Leadership Series Location DMACC Student Center, Bldg 5 2006 S. Ankeny Blvd, Ankeny Registration Review all the session options and registration links in this flyer. Questions? Contact Jim Verlengia, Ed.D. Director of Leadership Supports Heartland AEA jverlengia@heartlandaea.org (515) 270-0405 ext. 14388
Eleven years ago we offered the first Counselor Academy to help districts write their articulated, sequential school counseling program. The ASCA Model was relatively new at the time and the state legislature was just putting counselors back in the Iowa Code. The Administrative Rule was written to require districts to have a K-12 school counseling program. A lot has happened since then. The ASCA Model is on its third edition, there are new ASCA standards and education in Iowa has evolved. Using the ASCA Model, the Iowa Framework for School Counseling Programs, the Iowa definition of College and Career Readiness and the MTSS Framework, participants will write, update, refine and implement an ASCA Model for their district/building school counseling program. Because of the importance and interconnection of this work, an administrator is asked to accompany the counselors for, at a minimum, days 1 and 4. Of course, they are welcome to attend the entire academy. Counselor Academy: Refining and Revising Your School Counseling Program Dates: Sept. 10 and Dec. 11, 2018 and Feb. 11 and April 29, 2019 Time: 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Location: Heartland AEA, Johnston Regional Education Center, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston Registration Register at this link
Improving Literacy Instruction for Students on Alternate Assessment (Previously titled: Improving Literacy Instruction for Level 3 Learners)This class is designed for teachers of students with significant cognitive disabilities on alternate assessment. This class will provide an overview of the current research and philosophy of literacy instruction for this population. Content will include an introduction to the state frameworks for literacy instruction and the importance of communication; links to the alternate assessment; core vocabulary; and the five instructional routines: shared and guided reading, independent reading, foundational skills, independent writing and predictable chart writing. This class is similar in content to the Strat II coursework, but less in-depth. Heartland AEA Johnston Regional Education Center 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston July 9-10, 2018 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Register at this link Linking Alternate Assessment, Essential Elements and Quality IEPs for Literacy This 2-day course will help teachers, related service providers and AEA staff supporting students with significant intellectual disabilities make connections between assessment, curriculum and instruction. Participants will learn how to apply the alternate assessment tools and resources that help match instruction to student need; how to unpack and apply essential elements to establish present levels of performance; and ways to write ambitious IEP goals, align services to needs, monitor progress and meet requirements of both alternate assessments. The five routines of literacy will be reviewed, but not explored in depth. Heartland AEA Johnston Regional Education Center Corporate Drive, Johnston Aug. 8-9, 2018 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Register at this link
Thursday, April 19, 2018
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
Quality and affordable student planners are available for your school through Heartland AEA’s Creative Services Department. Planners can help some students feel more engaged and aware of school events, activities and projects. Visit our website to choose your planner style from the many options we offer. Place your order by May 1, 2018 to ensure delivery by the beginning of the next school year. For more information, contact the Heartland AEA Creative Services Department at (800) 255-0405 ext. 14368 or creativeservices@heartlandaea.org.
Drake University has graciously offered to the host the May 1 SAC and HAA meetings in Collier-Scripps Hall on campus. This is a new building located closer to Forest Avenue than University. Due to campus construction, you'll want to allow extra time for parking. Superintendents' Advisory Council (SAC) May 1, 2018 8:00 - 8:45 a.m. Drake University (Campus Map) 2507 University Avenue, Des Moines Collier-Scripps Hall, Room 235 Agenda Heartland Administrators' Association (HAA) May 1, 2018 9:00 -11:30 a.m. Drake University (Campus Map) 2507 University Avenue, Des Moines Collier-Scripps Hall, Room 235 Agenda Zoom link: https://heartlandaea.zoom.us/j/963780423
Heartland AEA’s Special Education Network originally scheduled for May 11, 2018, is being cancelled at this time. We look forward to meeting with you again in the fall when we resume these sessions. Dates of fall network sessions will be provided as soon as they are available. If you have further questions regarding the Special Education Network, please contact your Regional Director.
This information was shared with District Managers and should also be shared with appropriate district and building administrators. As you’re aware, Iowa’s Area Education Agencies are subsidizing costs for districts to upgrade their DE provided FastBridge (FAST) subscriptions to include additional functionality in the areas of mathematics and behavior. Your district indicated its interest in participating in a pilot of this subscription program, beginning in Spring 2018. Iowa’s AEA system has had many requests to produce FastBridge Math materials that include K-1 EarlyMath student materials and CBMMath Process student materials and teacher forms for grades 2-6. Grant Wood AEA has agreed to handle all the printing and shipping of these materials. Progress Monitoring student materials will be available in late summer. If your school or district is interested in these materials, you may place an order using this order form. Please complete the top section, select the items and quantities needed and place the order using one of the methods listed at the bottom of the form. Orders will be shipped to you through FedEx. For questions regarding ordering, printing and distribution, contact Tara Johannsen at Grant Wood AEA at tjohannsen@gwaea.org.
“Speaking for All Learners” will be held on June 12-13, 2018 at North Polk High School. PK-12 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. Conference topics include:
Strategies for addressing barriers to academic and language learning for English Learners in the classroom
Best practices for supporting early childhood language acquisition for preschool English Learners
Instructional leadership strategies for English language learning programs
Connecting and collaborating with other educators responsible for the success of English Learners
And many more learning opportunities and topics from experts in educating English Learners!
Featured Speakers Ayanna Cooper, Ed.D ELL specialist with extensive and diverse experience teaching educators how to enhance instruction for culturally and linguistically diverse learners. David Edward Garcia Grew up on the Mexican border in Texas, two worlds-linguistically and culturally. Successful speaker of five languages, teacher, entrepreneur, comedian. Anita Pandey, Ph.D.Professor of Linguistics and Coordinator of Professional Development and Communication at Morgan State University in Baltimore. Ryan Wise, Ed.D. Director of the Iowa Department of education Plus, our amazing local experts and students! Information and Registration Learn more at the conference website and register at this link by June 5. Incentive Heartland AEA Title III will refund the cost of registration ($150), plus provide an honorarium of $200 to off-contract public and non-public educators for full attendance and participation. This funding is not available to public or non-public districts served by the Des Moines Public Schools.
Iowa administrators and/or evaluators who are wanting to renew an evaluator license may choose from the following course options, including one new course and the Collaborative Leadership Institute with Peter Dewitt, offered through Heartland AEA. To learn more about these courses or to register, you may search by the course title at this page on our website. Fierce Conversations (2 credits) June 6, 8, 27 & 29, 2018 Heartland AEA, Johnston Regional Education Center Assessing Academic Rigor (2 credits) June 13, 14, 22 & 27, 2018 Heartland AEA, Johnston Regional Education Center Collaborative Leadership Institute with Dr. Peter DeWitt (2 credits) June 28-29, Oct. 12 & Dec. 13, 2018 Adel AEA Office NEW COURSE - Fierce Conversations 2: Generations and Feedback (1 credit) Prerequisite: Fierce Conversations July 19 & 26, 2018 Ankeny Northview Middle School NEW COURSE - Fierce Conversations 2: Generations and Feedback (1 credit) Prerequisite: Fierce Conversations Sept. 25 & Oct. 9, 2018 Heartland AEA, Johnston Regional Education Center
Friday, April 13, 2018
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
As you may recall, Iowa’s Area Education Agencies announced that the AEAs will subsidize costs for districts to upgrade their Iowa Department of Education-provided FastBridge (FAST) subscriptions to include additional functionality in the areas of mathematics and behavior. As a reminder, the deadline for 2018-19 participation (beginning fall 2018) is June 15, 2018. You can indicate your interest in participating in the fall assessments at this link. Heartland AEA schools that have signed up for the expanded assessment suite can be found at this link. Schools that want to purchase FastBridge for grades 7-12 should email the name of the their district, school, contact person, grade levels requesting to purchase, and student enrollment in those grades to sales@fastbridge.org. Also, many districts have started preparing for the spring and fall implementation for these assessments by participating in these upcoming webinars. Please be sure to register to participate in these webinars. A recording of each training session will be shared after each session.
Iowa's AEAs presented their 2nd annual AEA Awards at their annual boards’ conference last week to five deserving recipients This is the second year for the awards, which are an opportunity to recognize and celebrate outstanding candidates for their contributions to education and the AEA system. You can read about this year’s award recipients and their generous contributions on our website. It’s worth the read! (Pictured above, left to right) E. Robert Stephens Award Evan Abbey, Project Director of AEA Learning Online Friend of the AEAs Dr. Janet Stutz, superintendent of Grinnell-Newburg Community Schools Innovative Creator Award Cindy Cavanagh and Teresa Wyant, staff at Mississippi Bend AEA Friend of the AEAs Miller Roskamp, supporter of River Hills School
In an effort to share more information about the role that Iowa's AEAs play in supporting education, last week we (Iowa's AEAs) launched a redesigned website and a new video! We invite you to take a minute to watch the video, peruse the website and share both with your colleagues!
Secondary science teachers in the Perry Community School District are once again hosting a secondary science unit writing summer camp on June 13. This workshop is open to all secondary science teachers in grades 6-12. Teachers will meet in the Perry High School library and then break into grade level / subject-based teams and create a NGSS Unit to use in the 2018-19 school year. Participants will have access to all units created. Heartland AEA will also share some of the many instructional resources available through the AEA. To register, contact Kevin Vidergar, Perry CSD Director of Teaching and Learning, at kevin.vidergar@perry.k12.ia.us or (515) 608-2866.
Friday, April 6, 2018
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
The Iowa Department of Education in collaboration with the Iowa School Safety Alliance will be hosting school behavioral threat assessment training that is part of developing comprehensive school emergency operations plans. The Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Technical Assistance Center, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Safe and Healthy Students, is offering a one day Train-the-Educator training designed to familiarize schools and school districts with school behavioral threat assessments in preventing and reducing targeted violence at K-12 schools. Topics covered include how a threat assessment team can be integrated into the broader framework of school safety, security, emergency management and preparedness put forth in the Guide for Developing High-Quality School Emergency Operations Plans. The intended audiences for this training are school administrators, teachers, counselors, support staff, community partners such as law enforcement and school resource officers, and representatives from community groups.
This is a great way to improve safety efforts in your school. The course is FREE and will be held on May 1, 2018 at Heartland AEA, 6500 Corporate Drive in Johnston from 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Due to limited seating, it is important to register soon. Registration closes on April 24. Register for this training session online at this link.
Quality and affordable student planners are available for your school through Heartland AEA’s Creative Services Department. Planners can help some students feel more engaged and aware of school events, activities and projects. Visit our website to choose your planner style from the many options we offer. Place your order by May 1, 2018 to ensure delivery by the beginning of the next school year. For more information, contact the Heartland AEA Creative Services Department at (800) 255-0405 ext. 14368 or creativeservices@heartlandaea.org.
“Speaking for All Learners” will be held on June 12-13, 2018 from 9:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. at North Polk High School. PK-12 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. Keynoters
Ayanna Cooper, Ed.D is an ELL specialist who has extensive and diverse experience teaching educators how to enhance instruction for culturally and linguistically diverse learners.
David Edward Garcia grew up on the Mexican border in Texas and lived in two worlds-linguistically and culturally. Growing up as an EL, he did not experience academic success but has become a successful speaker of five languages, teacher, entrepreneur, comedian and an inspiration to both students and educators.
Conference topics include:
Strategies for addressing barriers to academic and language learning for English Learners in the classroom
Best practices for supporting early childhood language acquisition for preschool English Learners
Instructional leadership strategies for English language learning programs
Connecting and collaborating with other educators responsible for the success of English Learners
And many more learning opportunities and topics from experts in educating English Learners!
Information and Registration Learn more at the conference website and register at this link by June 5. Incentive Heartland AEA Title III will refund the cost of registration ($150), plus provide an honorarium of $200 to off-contract public and non-public educators for full attendance and participation. This funding is not available to public or non-public districts served by the Des Moines Public Schools.
Anyone, anywhere can be the one to make a difference in the life of an adolescent with a mental health challenge – if they know what to do and what to say.
Heartland AEA is offering Youth Mental Health First Aid certification training on April 12 to help educators, school staff and other caring adults how to identify, understand and respond to signs of a mental health challenge in kids ages 12-18. The certification trains on the skills needed to reach out and provide initial help and support to an adolescent who may be experiencing a mental health challenge or a crisis. Learn more about:
Risk factors and warning signs of mental health issues in adolescents
Importance of early intervention
How to help youth ages 12-18 who are experiencing a mental health challenge or crisis
Youth Mental Health First Aid April 12, 2018 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Heartland AEA, Johnston Regional Education Center, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston Registration This is a FREE course.Register at this link.
Are your students’ families really involved in their education? At this FREE event on June 18, participants will will learn the importance of family engagement in the academic lives and success of learners and discover how to create a culture that is conducive to engaging every family in the school and classroom. Engaging Every Family to Support Student Achievement June 18, 2018 8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Johnston Middle School Auditorium 6501 NW 62nd Ave., Johnston, IA Register at this link by June 8 For more information, contact Terry Mendell, Heartland AEA Family & Educator Lead Coordinator, at (515) 270-0405 ext. 17135 or tmendell@heartlandaea.org. Invited Audience: school administrators, teacher leaders, general and special education teachers Presenter: Steve Constantino, Ed.D. As a high school principal in 1995, Steve Constantino, Ed.D. became aware of research about the effects of family engagement on student learning and was convinced that this was the missing ingredient in helping all children learn. Using his high school as a laboratory, Dr. Constantino began to read more and more research and more importantly, figure out ways to apply it to his school. Steve’s work has gained national prominence as he’s traveled the United States speaking and working with all types of educators, school board members and businesses to promote sound practices in family engagement that result in increased academic achievement for all students. Today, he is the Acting State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Commonwealth of Virginia and is an adjunct professor at the School of Education, College of William and Mary where he teaches courses in the Executive Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership.
Heartland AEA is pleased to once again offer an additional course option for administrators and/or evaluators who want to renew their evaluator license. The Collaborative Leadership Institute is a two credit hour course that will be held on June 28-29, Oct. 12 and Dec. 13, 2018 at Heartland AEA in Adel. Heartland AEA and Corwin partnered in the design of the Evaluator Approval Training pilot last year with the assistance of Peter Dewitt, Ed.D., and his work on Collaborative Leadership, which is grounded in the Visible Learning research of education expert John Hattie, on the most influential and impactful leadership practices shown to accelerate student learning. In the Institute, Dr. Dewitt will unpack six leadership factors of Collaborative Leadership, painting a powerful scheme to meet stakeholders where they are, motivate stakeholders to strive for improvement and model how to do it. Participants will learn:
The definition and complexities of collaborative leadership
The 6 influences from Hattie’s research where they should focus
How to redesign structures they have in place to help them have deeper and more impactful conversations with teachers, students and parents
How to increase their ability to identify effective strategies for improvement
How to build consistency in providing feedback to teachers based on a common set of agreed upon effective components of teaching
Several activities to use with their staff to elicit the teachers’ voice and input into coaching, thus increasing teachers’ investment
A deeper understanding of the Claims, Evidence, Impact, Judgment model for providing feedback to teachers
To share best practices and be a resource
Registration Register at this link The course is open to anyone in Iowa. Seating is limited to 50 people. For any other questions, contact Jim Verlengia, Ed.D., Director of Leadership Supports with Heartland AEA at jverlengia@heartlandaea.org or (515) 270-0405 ext. 14388.
