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
Due to restrictions related to COVID-19, Heartland AEA vans will start summer van delivery to district administration buildings in July. This is a change from previous years. Van delivery will include library materials. Library materials should be returned to Heartland AEA on the van. If you have summer school, professional development programs or intercessions and would like regularly scheduled deliveries to additional buildings, email Colleen Miller.
Schedule-to-date:
- Once-a-week delivery to each district administration building runs July 6 to Aug. 7, 2020.
- Twice-a-week delivery will automatically continue to each building that has an extended year calendar.
- Regular fall van delivery resumes Aug. 10, 2020.
As a reminder, Heartland AEA offices are closed to the public until at least Aug. 1, 2020.
Agency leaders have been developing a plan in recent weeks for staff to begin to return to workplaces. Returning to work in phases allows our organization to maintain productivity while minimizing the spread of COVID-19 by keeping employees farther apart. In the first two phases of our three-phase approach, most staff will continue to remote work and then return to workplaces in phases. Here’s a closer look at how we’re planning a phased approach: Phases of Returning to Workplaces.
The Heartland AEA Science Consultants are facilitating a wide array of online summer professional learning opportunities at no cost to educators or districts. Choose from topics, such as:
- Mystery Science
- Defined Learning
- Iowa Phenomenon Project
- NGSS Science Standards
- Science in Early Childhood
- OpenSciEd Curriculum Resource and Instructional Model
This community engagement event creates an opportunity for education stakeholders in urban, suburban and rural communities to convene online to discuss equity implications for addressing students' educational, social and emotional needs during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. During this Café, we will engage in dynamic discussion and share ideas for solutions to identified challenges in historically underserved communities, as school communities prepare for recovery, reentry and reimaging teaching and learning in a new landscape. Featuring these selected topics:
- Mental Health/Socio-emotional Wellness
- Family/Community Care
- Leadership
- Supporting Diverse Students in Distance Learning
June 22, 2020
1:30 - 3 p.m. CST
Online
No Cost
Registration Information
In an effort to support the well-being of districts, educators, students and families, Heartland AEA is pleased to bring you, "Wellness Weekly," a weekly series dedicated to all things wellness and well-being.
Check out the Wellness Weekly site every week for well-being resources, tips and fun and share with colleagues and families!
This week features:
- Feeling Overwhelmed by Media? You Aren't Alone
- Disconnect From Work Stress
- 100 Staycation Ideas for This Summer
- Funnies: These Memes Sum Up the First Half of 2020
The Iowa School Public Relations Association (ISPRA) has released its sample Return to Learn Communication Plan for all districts in Iowa. The plan is designed to help raise awareness about the need to prepare for face-to-face learning disruptions in the fall of 2020 and to establish the “why” for using this opportunity to rethink teaching and learning in order to garner support. The plan includes a number of templates as well as surveys for families, staff and teachers. Additional helpful communication resources for districts are available on the Iowa School Public Relations Association website. Remember also to utilize the numerous resources and surveys on the Iowa Department of Education’s Return to Learn Google site.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced a nationwide extension of another key flexibility for USDA’s child nutrition programs. This waiver allows local partners, who have been working overtime serving meals to kids during the health crisis, the ability to continue serving free meals to all children – regardless of where they live – for the remainder of the summer. This action is part of USDA’s ongoing commitment to making it as easy as possible for local program operators to get food to children impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. To learn more, visit www.fns.usda.gov/coronavirus and follow FNS on Twitter at @USDANutrition.
The Iowa Department of Education is releasing revised guidance on summer sports, summer learning and activities, and use of school facilities. The Department believes the revisions are warranted following new proclamations from Governor Reynolds, feedback from the field about the initial guidance, and our desire to allow school leaders to best respond to the strengths and needs of their local communities. The changes are summarized below.
The revised Summer Sports Guidance adds a statement that refers people to the Use of School Facilities Guidance for information on the use of school facilities for activities other than baseball and softball.
The revised Summer Learning and Activities Guidance adds a statement that any school district, nonpublic school, or governing association may begin offering summer activities in consultation with public health and local law enforcement. This includes extracurricular activities and co-curricular activities, but no sports other than those expressly permitted by Department guidance or a proclamation of the governor.
The revised Use of School Facilities Guidance adds a statement that the Department defers to local districts, public health, the IHSAA, IGHSAU, and other associations that support school activities to determine when and how activities will resume. The Department continues to exercise general supervision over and provide guidance about the use of school facilities in accordance with Iowa Code and the governor’s proclamations.
The Iowa Department of Public Health has also released new guidance today regarding potential COVID-19 exposures on baseball and softball teams. This guidance supplements our summer sports guidance.
The Iowa Department of Education is releasing guidance on new Return-to-Learn resources addressing continuous improvement processes (Leadership B1), professional development (Infrastructure C1-C2), the mitigation survey and student/family connection log. All Return-to-Learn supports can be found on their Return-to-Learn Google site. The Department established a partnership with UnboundEd to provide educators with standards-based professional learning opportunities that align with the Return-to-Learn support document (overview document).
