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
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 one highly productive day. Workshops are scheduled at Heartland AEA on Jan. 29 and Feb. 19. Register online
ISFIS Budget Workshops at Heartland AEA
Heartland AEA, 6500 Corporate Drive in Johnston
Jan. 29 or Feb. 19
Register online
For more information, contact Marissa Gaal at marissa@iowaschoolfinance.com or (515) 251-5970 ext. 4.
Additional Budget Offerings
IASB also offers certified budget workshops for superintendents and school business officials, and two of them are held at the IASB office in Des Moines on Feb. 6 and Feb. 26. Workshops are free for IASB members. For more information, visit the IASB website.
March 7, 2018
2:00 - 5:30 p.m.
Heartland AEA
Johnston Regional Education Center
6500 Corporate Drive
Johnston, IA 50131
This will be an opportunity for you to recruit quality candidates to your district, as well as a chance to help keep quality teaching talent in Iowa!
RETURNING THIS YEAR: Mock Interviews!
In addition to the opportunity to meet with districts, prospective employees will also have the opportunity to attend career fair etiquette, interviewing and resume writing classes on-site.
To register your district/school, complete this form by Jan. 25, 2018. More information will follow.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact Tony Chiaramonte, Heartland AEA Human Resources Manager.
We look forward to this opportunity to serve you and hope your district will be able to attend this exciting event!
Many districts have already expressed interest to their respective AEA about using this suite of assessments. There are two different window available, thus two potential deadlines are listed below. FastBridge will include the Spring 2018 assessment window for districts/schools who commit to 2018-19 participation, at no additional charge.
Option 1: If your district would like to commit to participation in 2018-19, but start using the assessment in the spring 2018 at no additional charge, complete this complete this formal interest survey by Jan. 15, 2018.
Option 2: If you don't want to use tools for free during the spring 2018 screening window, but plan to use them beginning in the fall of 2018, then you have until June 15, 2018 to commit and complete this formal interest survey.
This one-hour webinar recording provides an overview of the FastBridge suite of formative assessment tools available for K-6 students in math and was presented during the Statewide Curriculum Network last December. These are the slides used during the webinar.
This is information shared by the AEAs regarding the pricing structure negotiated with FastBridge Learning by the AEAs, and deadlines for notifying your AEA if your school plans to participate in 2018-19.
If you are a school in the Heartland AEA service area and have any questions, contact Kevin Fangman, Chief Academic Officer with Heartland AEA, at kfangman@heartlandaea.org or (515) 270-9030 ext. 14374. We will be collecting questions and facilitating feedback from FastBridge Learning and will share this in an FAQ document in the near future.
Do you know someone who has made outstanding contributions to education and Iowa’s Area Education Agencies (AEAs)? Please take a few minutes to nominate this person for recognition by Iowa’s AEAs. The AEA awards -- the Friend of the AEA Award, the E. Robert Stephens Award and the Innovative Creator Award -- recognize outstanding candidates for their contributions to education and the AEA system.
To submit a nomination, complete this application by Feb. 2, 2018. Anyone is welcome to submit a nomination. The nominations will be reviewed by a selected group of AEA personnel in February. Both the nominating individual and the person who is selected to be recognized will be notified the first week in March. The awards will be presented at the Iowa AEA Boards of Directors’ Conference on April 5, 2018 in Johnston.
More information about the awards can be found on the Iowa AEA website.
Register now for the 2018 Legislative Education Advocacy Event sponsored by Iowa's Area Education Agencies. This event will bring together school administrators from across Iowa to learn the most up-to-date legislative insight, and meet with legislators face-to-face at the Capitol.
Legislative Update
Jan. 30, 2018
5:30 p.m.
Prairie Meadows Hotel
Legislative Visits
Jan. 31, 2018
7:30 - 9 a.m.
Iowa State Capitol
Registration is open until Jan. 23 at this link.
Are you looking for ways to increase the knowledge and skills of your staff and yourself regarding college and career readiness? Iowa Go Alliance Academy and AEA Learning Online have set up a number of online courses to help enhance your knowledge and save you time and money!
Building a College-Going Culture for All Students
How to remove barriers to higher education, especially for low-income, first-generation and minority students.
January 22-March 16, 2018
March 2-April 20, 2018
June 11-July 27, 2018
College, Career and Academic Planning
(Prerequisite: Building a College-Going Culture for All Students)
How to engage students in early college and career awareness, and support students in postsecondary and career planning.
January 22-March 16, 2018
March 2-April 20, 2018
June 11-July 27, 2018
Financial Aid and College Applications
(Prerequisite: Building a College-Going Culture for All Students)
How to support students and families navigating the complexities of filing the FAFSA and other financial aid and college applications.
January 22-March 16, 2018
March 2-April 20, 2018
June 11-July 27, 2018
Maximizing Counselor Impact: Module for Administrators
How school leaders can engage effectively with school counselors. Developed in collaboration with the National Association of Secondary School Principals.
January 22-March 16, 2018
March 2-April 20, 2018
June 11-July 27, 2018
Iowa Go Alliance Academy is a college and career counseling training program provided by Iowa College Aid in partnership with Southern Regional Education Board and AEA Learning Online. See best practices in action and gain knowledge and resources that can be incorporated in your work with students immediately. Courses are offered for license renewal or graduate credit through Drake University, Morningside University and Viterbo University. Space is limited, so register today. For more information about Iowa Go Alliance Academy and course availability, contact Ashley McKenna at ashley.mckenna@iowa.gov.
Last month, the Iowa Department of Education provided information about a required change in practice that they will phase in over time regarding graduation requirements for children with disabilities. This change is required by an amendment made to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act by the Every Student Succeeds Act. That federal amendment changes the definition of a “regular high school diploma.” Due to scheduling conflicts and difficulties, a public hearing that was scheduled for Jan. 8 is postponed and will be rescheduled to a date later this spring. The period of public comment is open now and will be extended to the date of the rescheduled public hearing. The DE will communicate the new hearing date. Refer to this letter from the DE for more information.
The Jan. 2018 School Leader Update from the Iowa Department of Education is now available.
Happy New Year, and welcome to the first issue of the year of Each and Every Child newsletter from the Iowa Department of Education. The newsletter takes a look into a fledgling Iowa program that aims to ensure access to quality education for a small but significant group of students.
