Heartland AEA Holiday Office Closings & Van Delivery Schedule

Please note the following schedule as you plan to place orders through Creative Services and our library and use our van mail. Due to winter break, all Heartland AEA offices will be closed to the public Dec. 24, 2018 through Jan. 1, 2019.

• Regular van delivery: Dec. 17 - 21
• No van delivery: Dec. 24 - Jan. 1
• Regular van delivery resumes: Jan. 2

AEA Customer Survey Open to Iowa Educators Until Dec. 14

Last week, Iowa’s AEAs emailed a survey to local educators with the goal of better understanding stakeholder awareness of and satisfaction with AEA services. Please encourage your educators to participate in this survey, as feedback is critical to ensuring Iowa’s AEAs continue to provide quality services to local schools.

Take the survey: https://bit.ly/2RVBUWx

Iowa's AEAs have partnered with Hanover Research to administer and analyze this survey. Hanover Research is an independent market research firm based in Washington, D.C., and is in no way affiliated with any other entity or organization. Your responses are completely anonymous and will be kept strictly confidential, so please be as open and honest as possible. The survey should take approximately 15 min. to complete. The survey will close on Dec. 14, 2018. If you have any questions, contact Cate Keller at Hanover Research.

Iowa's AEAs Are Looking for a New Executive Director

The Iowa Area Education Agency (AEA) system is seeking applicants for the full-time position of Executive Director of the Iowa Association of Area Education Agencies (IAAEA) who will be responsible for leading, managing, guiding and administering the goals of the AEA Chief Administrators, including the direction and operation of all IAAEA programs, services, finances and personnel resources. Position details are located on the Iowa AEA website. Application deadline is Jan. 18.

Has Your District Created Your Portrait of a Graduate?

Many school systems across the country have engaged their larger community in developing a Portrait of a Graduate, a collective vision that articulates the community's aspirations for all students. Locally developed, but globally positioned, the Portrait of a Graduate serves as a North Star for system transformation. Providing strategic direction for the redesign of the overall educational experience for students, this collective vision reinvigorates and re-engages students, teachers, and community stakeholders.

Come by yourself or with a small team to learn processes and tools to use back in your district with stakeholders as you engage in the work of creating your own Portrait of a Graduate. Ask questions of the facilitator who has gone through the work herself and share in the collaboration with other about how we can engage our communities in this important work.

Facilitating a Portrait of a Graduate
Dec. 13, 2018
12:30 - 3:00 p.m.
Heartland AEA, Johnston Regional Education Center, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston

Register for this free workshop at this link: https://goo.gl/gmX4h9

Get The Scoop on Iowa’s Gifted and Talented Programming in This FREE Workshop at Heartland AEA

Gifted & Talented 101: Gifted Students, Programming & MTSS for Advanced Learners
Jan. 11, 2019
8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Heartland AEA, Johnston Regional Education Center, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston, IA

This workshop is designed for K-12 general education teachers, instructional coaches and administrators who are interested in gaining background knowledge about Gifted and Talented (GT) programming in Iowa.

Topics covered will include:

• Iowa Code requirements for GT programs
• Characteristics of gifted students
• Best practices and resources for educators, including an overview of the new MTSS Advanced Learner Facilitation Guide

Register at this link: https://goo.gl/RsKCoH
There is no registration fee for this workshop.

Course Instructor: Kyra Wilcox-Conley, Professional Learning & Leadership Consultant with Heartland AEA

Advanced Learner Multi-tiered System of Support Guide Workshop Coming in January

The Iowa Department of Education, in collaboration with Heartland AEA is offering at no cost an opportunity to learn about the MTSS for Advanced Learner Guide and ways to begin implementing its use for K-12 grade classroom teachers. The Advanced Learner Multi-tiered System of Support Guide was created to assist classroom teachers, ensuring all students are appropriately challenged. The Guide is written content neutral and can be used across disciplines for K-12 grade learners. 

Districts are encouraged to bring teams comprised of general education elementary classroom teachers, secondary educators, a counselor, teacher leaders, a building administrator and the g/t teachers. District teams will have time to work on a district/building plan throughout the day.

Advanced Learner MTSS Guide Training
Jan. 23, 2019
8:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Heartland AEA, Johnston Regional Education Center, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston

Register for this free workshop at this link: https://goo.gl/cjd2Qo

Tammy Heflebower to Present the Next Strand of Standards-based Learning: Targets, Scales and Rubrics

Teachers, curriculum directors, instructional coaches and other educators are invited to learn more about Standards-based Learning (SBL) Targets, Scales and Rubrics from Tammy Heflebower, Ed.D.

In this session, Dr. Heflebower will focus primarily on the creation of proficiency scales and their place in the broader, upfront work of deconstructing standards and the understanding and development of aligned assessments. She will speak of how proficiency scales fit into the instructional cycle and into the learning partnership between teacher and students. The work of creating proficiency scales is a seismic shift from our past practices of using a 100-point grading scale which converts points given to percentages.

For more information, contact Susie Bentley, Heartland AEA Regional Director, at sbentley@heartlandaea.org or (515) 270-9030 Ext. 18114.

Strand of SBL Framework: Learning Targets, Scales & Rubrics
Feb. 28, 2019
8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.
FFA Enrichment Center 1055 SW Prairie Trail Pkwy, Ankeny, IA

Register at https://goo.gl/TzmVQt by Feb. 1, 2019

Share This Monthly Networking Opportunity with Your Parents and Caregivers of Students with Special Needs

Parents and caregivers of students with special needs: join us for “Conversation & Coffee,” our monthly morning coffee group! Learn about community resources and upcoming events and network with parents who have similar experiences and challenges.

Mark your calendar for these 2018-19 meeting dates!

• Dec. 20, 2018
• Jan. 17, 2019
• Feb. 21, 2019
• March 14, 2019 (due to Spring Break)
• April 18, 2019
• May 16, 2019

Conversation & Coffee meets the third Thursday of each month from 9:30 - 11 a.m. at the 100th Street Corner Café in Urbandale.

RSVP appreciated but not necessary: Kari Paulsen, Family & Educator Coordinator, Heartland AEA, at kpaulsen@heartlandaea.org or (515) 270-9030 ext. 14493.

Dec. 2018 School Leader Update

The Dec. 2018 School Leader Update from the Iowa Department of Education is now available.

Resources for Support Following Release of ESSA Designations

Designation Questions
This week, superintendents were informed of the ESSA designations for their schools through a form email. Some districts didn’t have schools in either the Targeted or Comprehensive categories. For questions about the designations, contact Jay Pennington at the Iowa Department of Education at jay.pennington@iowa.gov.

Heartland AEA’s ESSA Administrator Session - Dec. 20
Administrators of buildings/districts with schools that have been designated in need of either Targeted or Intensive supports are invited to attend Heartland AEA’s ESSA Administrator Session on Dec. 20 in Johnston. The day-long information and planning session provides administrators with an opportunity to become familiar with:

• Our collaborative work and alignment with existing practices/resources
• ESSA Accountability Index, designations, calculations, what it means and how to explain it
• Communication toolkit to support sharing information with your board, staff, parents, community and legislators
• ESSA contacts and support from the Department of Education and Area Education Agencies
• ESSA Administrator Organizer as a planner to ensure access to all required and optional supports
• Supports available, including the purpose, access, importance, who should be involved and challenges/solutions
• Discussion of next steps

Connections will be made across all schools, and DE and AEA staff will be available to answer questions. Registration information can be found in the Master Schedule for ESSA Trainings.

Additional Resources

• ESSA Communication Folder contains resources for use with staff and communities
• ESSA talking points