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
The Heartland AEA 2018-19 Leadership Series kicks off in Sept. 2018 and will feature some of today’s most intriguing, innovative and influential leaders from around the country who will share their background, insight and knowledge with educators. Speakers will candidly share their experiences, discuss challenges that have impacted their work and provide a unique opportunity to learn from their hands-on experiences. Each session will be held at the DMACC Ankeny campus with morning sessions created for superintendents and afternoon sessions designed for all educators. Zoom options will also be available. For more information, contact Jim Verlengia, Ed.D., Director of Leadership Supports with Heartland AEA at jverlengia@heartlandaea.org or (515) 270-0405 ext. 14388.
“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.
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!
Plan to bring a team! For more information, refer to the conference brochure or contact Pam McDonnell at pam.mcdonnell@iowa.gov.
Central Rivers AEA in Cedar Falls will be host to a literacy conference on June 13-14. The conference is designed to provide educators with an opportunity to learn from nationally acclaimed literacy experts whose research focuses on effective practices. Researchers will engage participants in learning that supports the implementation of research-based effective practices that lead to a strong core literacy program, as well as interventions that support struggling readers. Separate learning strands will focus on elementary, middle and high school educators, and building and/or district leadership teams.
Literacy Conference
June 13-14
8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Central Rivers AEA, 1521 Technology Parkway, Cedar Falls
Register at this link by June 8
View the conference details in this flyer
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
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. 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.
A graduate student and a few professors at Iowa State University have been working with the West Des Moines Historical Society to create an inquiry-based field trip for teachers to go on with their students to the Bennett School on Fuller Road in West Des Moines. The team from ISU wants to create something that teachers could get trained in so that they can go to the Bennett School when it is convenient for them and lead the inquiry-based lessons on their own since the school is not always staffed. They would like teacher feedback for this idea to know what educators need and how they could best use the resources. Please complete their Inquiry-based Survey by March 22.
