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 Superintendents' Advisory Council (SAC) and Heartland Administrators' Association (HAA) meetings scheduled on April 7 are cancelled. Superintendents will continue to meet via Zoom as scheduled.
The Heartland AEA Library & Digital Resources Library & Digital Resources newsletter is now available. Make sure to follow the newsletter and share it with your colleagues! In this issue…
- Ebooks: Unlimited and Multiple Copies
- TeachingBooks.net Webinar
- Digital Content and Family Message
- Zoom Help Sheets
- A copyright attorney says...
Reducing Anxiety in Students
Featuring Jessica Minahan
April 10 via Zoom
Heartland AEA is excited to announce a unique professional learning opportunity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Heartland AEA staff*, LEA and community partners are invited to participate in a 2-hour webinar meeting with Jessica Minahan from 9-11 a.m. on April 10, 2020.
Session Description: With up to one in three children struggling with anxiety in this country, overwhelmed adults require a new approach as well as a practical and easy-to-implement toolkit of strategies that work. In the time of COVID19, and the subsequent societal changes, anxiety has become ever present in students of all ages.
Through the use of case studies, humorous stories and examples of everyday challenging situations, participants will learn easy-to-implement preventive tools, strategies and interventions for reducing anxiety, increasing self regulation, accurate thinking and self-monitoring in students. Virtual classroom and traditional classroom examples will be shared.
Registration
Register at this link: https://bit.ly/2USYwde using Course #189671
Participants will receive Zoom meeting connection information via the email address used during registration.
Professional Development Workshop intended for:
K-12 Classroom Teachers, Special Educators, Paraprofessionals, Guidance Counselors, Department Heads, Team Leaders, Curriculum Coordinators, Administrators
About the Presenter
Jessica Minahan, MEd, BCBA, is a licensed and board-certified behavior analyst, special educator, as well as a consultant to schools internationally. Jessica has over 17 years of experience supporting students who exhibit challenging behavior in urban public-school systems. She is the co-author of The Behavior Code: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Teaching the Most Challenging Students (Harvard Education Press, 2012), and author of The Behavior Code Companion: Strategies, Tools, and Interventions for Supporting Students with Anxiety-Related or Oppositional Behaviors (Harvard Education Press, 2014).
*Heartland AEA staff who participated in a full day of learning with Jessica during the 2018-19 school year are welcome to participate in this 2-hour session, however should know the session will likely have similar content and areas of focus.
Questions: Contact Jadie Boens, Director of Special Programs or Martha Condon, Director of Professional Learning with Heartland AEA.
If you have questions about courses in your district/school that are currently in place for credit renewal from Heartland AEA or if you are wanting to set up learning opportunities for credit, email the Heartland AEA Professional Learning team.
Digital Learning Activities From Heartland AEA
Heartland AEA staff have created and will facilitate digital learning activities for educators, paraprofessional and administrators. Check back as additional offerings may be added. Most offerings will be hosted by staff via live or recorded Zoom. If school districts or partners have specific requests, reach out to the Heartland AEA Regional Director who supports your work.
Webinar and Digital Learning from State and National Organizations
Heartland AEA staff have pulled together a wide array of free learning opportunities hosted by a variety of national and state-level organizations, including AEA Learning Online. These free webinars and digital learning resources can be filtered by session title, area of focus or targeted audience.
Digital Content for Teaching and Learning
For those of you looking for digital content to integrate into your teaching and learning, check out the listing of short webinars and videos for the online databases (BookFLIX, MackinVIA, Gale, Teen Health & Wellness, TeachingBooks, PebbleGo, Britannica, netTrekker, Defined Learning, Tales2Go, Mystery Science). If you would like an introduction to AEA Scout and how it may be used with secondary students (single sign-on, one search and interface, persistent links to individual resources), contact sschrader@heartlandaea.org.
The Iowa Department of Education is issuing new guidance for Iowa districts and nonpublic schools addressing an optional federal waiver for the 2019-20 school year that allows Iowa to waive several ESSA requirements, including those related to assessment, accountability and school identification as well as certain reporting requirements related to assessments and accountability.
Iowa submitted this waiver to the U.S. Department of Education on March 30, and received approval on April 1. Public comment on the approved waiver can be provided via email to ESSA@iowa.gov through April 30.
This guidance will be added to the COVID-19 Guidance and Information page on the Dept. website. All current guidance from the Iowa Department of Education can be found on this page. Please know that we will continue to keep you informed of any future updates to the guidance we have issued.
The Iowa Department of Education released a host of optional resources for families and educators to use as they support student learning during school closures due to COVID-19. The resources are available on the Iowa Department of Education’s website and include interactive games, virtual field trips, coding activities and e-books.
The learning resources for students in PK-12 do not replace what they have learned at school, but instead help students practice or enrich the skills and strategies taught by their teachers.
The Iowa Department of Education partnered with AEA Learning Online, the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council, Iowa PBS and the Iowa Reading Research Center to provide a variety of resources. The resources cover multiple subject areas, such as literacy, computer science, fine arts and career and technical education. The resources also address mental health and emotional well-being.
The resources to support learning during COVID-19 is not exhaustive and will be reviewed and updated weekly with additional resources.
The April 2020 School Leader Update from the Iowa Department of Education is now available.
