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 Administrators’ Association (HAA) meeting will be held on March 2 via Zoom from 9-11:30 a.m. The agenda is available at this link. The meeting features guest speaker, Steve Bench, who will present on Generational Differences and Supporting Young Teachers. Steve is a nationally recognized speaker who has shared his message with audiences across the country. Prior to founding Generational Consulting, Steve was a program director for Business World where he worked with thousands of teenagers every year and those Millennials have informed and inspired his presentations.
Please take 2-3 minutes to complete this short survey to provide information about needs related to science education in your setting. We’d like your responses April 9.
Iowa’s AEAs have designed and provided professional learning opportunities to learn strategies and supports for implementing Well-Being/Mental Health services to students and educators across the state of Iowa. Each AEA has used legislative funds to designate staff as Youth Mental Health First Aid trainers. Educators across the state have participated in over 150 different learning opportunities developed by the AEAs in partnership with the Iowa Department of Education focused on the social, emotional, and well-being of students and educators targeted to address the mental health needs of school-aged children. Here is an update on the number of mental health/wellbeing training that have been taken by educators in recent weeks.
We are pleased to officially announce that ACHIEVE, the new system that will manage the components of special education/early intervention in the state of Iowa, including Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSPs), will be ready for use in November of this year. A November date will ensure the following for a smooth transition:
- Sufficient time for migration of data and system testing
- Adequate professional development is established and administered to all appropriate staff
- All count data is from one system
Training is currently being developed and more information will be shared at the Iowa Special Education Network meeting on March 9. You can also find information on this ACHIEVE Update Site. We look forward to working with you in this new and enhanced system.
In an effort to enhance security for the Iowa IDEA system, an additional security layer will be implemented in March.
This process will take place between March 5 at Noon and March 7 at Noon and will impact the LIVE Iowa IDEA system (IFSP, IEP, IMS and Hearing Module). The Iowa IDEA LIVE site will be taken off line at Noon on March 5 until approximately 4:30 pm. Although the system will be brought back up there will be testing going on behind the scenes and some functions of the system may not work appropriately. This testing will continue until Noon on March 7. It is recommended that users do not try to enter data into the Iowa IDEA LIVE site from March 5-7 as some functionality may not be available (even if the site appears to be online).
This message is also posted on the login screen of Iowa IDEA site.
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 Administrators’ Association (HAA) meeting will be held on March 2 via Zoom from 9-11:30 a.m. The agenda is now available at this link. The meeting features guest speaker, Steve Bench, who will present on Generational Differences and Supporting Young Teachers. Steve is a nationally recognized speaker who has shared his message with audiences across the country. Prior to founding Generational Consulting, Steve was a program director for Business World where he worked with thousands of teenagers every year and those Millennials have informed and inspired his presentations.
The Heartland AEA Library & Digital Resources newsletter is now available. Make sure to follow the newsletter and share it with your colleagues!
In this issue:
- Computer Science Standards
- Research in Elementary Classroom Online Course
- TeachingBooks.net and 2021-22 IASL Award Books
- New Ebooks Added
- Black History Exhibits Online
- New COVID Information
In response to district needs surrounding Iowa Code Chapter 103, Iowa’s Area Education Agencies have developed Frequently Asked Questions along with supporting forms/templates. These resources are intended for district use and should be shared as needed. The templates below will force you to make a copy, and districts can format them with their district’s branding. If you have any questions about these materials, contact your regional director and/or Kristi Upah, Chief Student Services Officer.
Heartland AEA’s Heart of Innovation Summer Summit registration is open + New Pear Deck Course starts March 1. Check out all the details in the instructional technology newsletter. Also in this issue:
- New Digital Resources
- Professional Learning for Teaching and Learning with Tech
- Join Our Facebook Group
In an effort to support the well-being of districts, students, educators and families, we're pleased to bring you "Wellness Inspiration," a resource dedicated to well-being. Check out the Wellness Inspiration site for well-being resources, tips and fun and share with colleagues and families! This issue features:
- New Way to Think About Work-Life Balance
- February = The Month to Celebrate Your Heart
- An Iowa Winter Poem
Volunteer Iowa in partnership with Central College and statewide stakeholders is hoping to develop a better understanding of what local communities are doing, and what barriers they may be facing in implementing community engaged learning so they can better support you.
We are requesting at least one representative from each school complete this survey, even if you do not implement service learning. Recommended participants include school administrators, school counselors, service-learning or silver cord coordinators, and/or teachers with experience implementing service-learning. You can access the survey here: https://forms.gle/zV1kjN5SzonWw6J98.
In appreciation of the various methods of service-learning, we are using a broad definition - combining academic learning with a meaningful experience benefiting the common good. We are interested in compiling the current efforts of Iowa educators. We anticipate the survey will take about five minutes depending on whether you are or are not currently doing service-learning.
If you have questions please email Rachelle Talbott, Associate Director of Community-Based Learning at Central College at talbottr@central.edu.
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 Literacy Newsletter is now available. Make sure to follow the newsletter and share it with your colleagues! In this issue:
- Responding to Data
- Interventions
- Literacy Status
- Learning Opportunities
- Science of Reading
Reach out to your Heartland AEA Literacy Consultant if you need any support.
Iowa’s AEAs would like to collect information regarding increasing AEA paraeducator offerings. Please help us improve our process by providing your experience and feedback through this brief survey by Feb. 15, 2021. Thank you!
Join Iowa PBS in celebrating Black History Month this month with timely, educational programs highlighting stories of courage, strength and perseverance. These programs will offer viewers opportunities to honor the contributions and achievements of Black Americans by learning more about their stories. The scheduled programming will appear on Iowa PBS .1.
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
Mitigation posters, signs, vinyls, clings, and floor and wall decals have been added to Creative Services Online. Browse by searching COVID. To order, log in with the single sign-on username/password used for AEA Learning Online (mandatory reporter).
The February 2021 School Leader Update from the Iowa Department of Education is available.
