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 Feb. 2 Heartland Administrators' Association (HAA) agenda is now available. Link here. The meeting will be held via Zoom from 9:00 - 11:30 a.m.
These professional learning resources were compiled and developed to assist school districts in meeting the requirements of Senate File 2360 (Guidance for Safe Classroom Learning Environments) and Chapter 103 (Corporal Punishment, Physical Restraint, Seclusion and Other Physical Contact with Students). Information is included on research-based intervention strategies for students with Social, Emotional, Behavior, and/or Mental Health (SEBMH) needs in the school setting.
Foundational Behavior Principles
- Understand the functions of behavior
- Recognize the ABCs (Antecedent - Behavior - Consequences) of behavior
- Realize the importance of building relationships with our students as the key way to prevent behavior
Prevention Strategies
- Know what prevention strategies mean
- Understand how to use prevention strategies to minimize triggers for problem behaviors
- Recognize prevention strategies that can be used in your classroom to promote appropriate behavior
Supporting Communication
- Know the definition and purpose of teaching replacement behaviors
- Understand how replacement behaviors reduce the occurrence of problem behavior
- Know general procedures for teaching replacement behaviors in the classroom
Response Strategies
- Know strategies for responding to problem behavior in the classroom
- Understand the importance of reducing reinforcement for problem behavior
- Know a decision making plan for responding to crisis behavior in the classroom
De-Escalation
- Understand the importance of preventing crises
- Gain knowledge of effective verbal de-escalation strategies
Access the Safe Classroom Learning Environment modules at this link.
Heartland AEA in collaboration with the Iowa Department of Education will be holding a series of workshops for districts interested in revisiting and revising their Teacher Leadership Compensation Plan.
Each workshop will focus on a critical part of the Teacher Leadership plan, allowing time for new learning, reflection and collaboration across districts. Workshops will be held via Zoom from 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. with an optional Q&A/networking opportunity from 1-1:30 p.m. The series will cover the following areas:
Improving Teacher Leadership
- Roles and Responsibilities - Feb. 25, 2021
- Hiring and Sustaining TLC - March 25, 2021
- Mentoring and Induction - April 22, 2021
- Plan Revision and Site Based Teams - May 13, 2021
If you are a district administrator or staff primarily responsible for TLC, building leader, TLC site-based team member or instructional coach and are interested in attending, complete the form found here.
All sessions will be recorded and made available on our Teacher Leadership Professional Development Google Site.
For more information, contact:
Michelle Vaughan
Danyel Reiter
Wendy Robinson
Lora Rasey
The Iowa Board of Educational Examiners newsletter is now available. In this issue: Frequently Asked Questions, Rule Changes, Renewal Credit Providers and Renewal Credit Options, Ethics Spotlight, and Recent Cases.
Many of you were on the webinar hosted by the Iowa Department of Education on Jan. 27 outlining these new positions that can be used with operational sharing dollars and partnering with DMACC. If you are not aware or have not seen the recording of the webinar, it will be posted on the DE website soon. In the meantime, the playbook explaining these positions can be found here. If you would like more information, please contact Sue Schirmer at sschirmer@heartlandaea.org.
