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 next HAA meeting will be held on April 6 from 9 - 11:30 a.m. (Agenda) The meeting will be held via Zoom with an in-person option at Heartland AEA, 6500 Corporate Drive, Johnston, Rooms 107A/B. Covid mitigation efforts are in place, including masks and social distancing.
- If you wish to attend in-person, add your name to this list, so we can ensure room capacity.
- If you wish to attend via Zoom, use the Zoom link included in your calendar invitation and located on the agenda.
The meeting will feature guest speaker Kristin Anderson, who is an educator, researcher, and founder and CEO of The Brilliance Project. Through her research and consultancy over her 20-plus-year career, Kristin has helped thousands of educators, leaders and aspiring world-changers transform their potential and unleash their personal power through the lens of education. She is the author of Data Teams Success Stories Volume 1, Real Time Decisions, Getting Started with Rigorous Curriculum Design, and soon to be published book on Educator Wellbeing.
Anderson's April 6 presentation will focus on emotional wellbeing. If we are to navigate the storm that has been brewing for the past several years, retain our educators and leaders, and cause human flourishing, then focusing on emotional wellbeing is critical.
The movement to bring computer science education to all students has quickly been embraced across the United States. Almost every state in the country is developing policies that aim to promote greater access to computer science learning experiences, and at the local level, communities, districts and local education organizations have been involved in launching local initiatives focused on computer science education.
To support our districts in this work, Heartland AEA has created this Computer Science Overview + FAQ which includes a Computer Science In Iowa timeline, upcoming computer science workshops, and additional learning opportunities.
The value should drive what computer science education looks like.
Why should students learn computer science? For creativity? Jobs? Justice? Innovation? The answers to these questions shape what computer science education looks like in practice. Computer science can and should look different, given the diverse aspirations and experiences of students, as well as their educators, families and others who aim to support them.
This year Iowa’s AEAs again will be subsidizing the costs for schools to upgrade their DE-provided FAST subscriptions that includes the expanded assessment suite in math and behavior for K-6, and literacy, math and behavior for grades 7 & 8. Participation is available both to schools that purchased the expanded assessment suite in previous years and those that want to use it for the first time in 2021-22. The registration window is April 1- May 7, 2021. More details are available here.
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:
- 2021-22 IASL Award Books Order Reminder
- New Tech Ebooks
- 2021-22 IASL Award Audiobooks in Tales 2 Go
- Virtual Field Trips
- New MackinVIA Admin
- Bloom's Taxonomy for Digital Learning
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 by April 9.
The Iowa Department of Education has released "Guidance for Physical Education for Students with Disabilities" on their website. There is not a change in our procedures or practices, but this document might be a useful resource in working with IEP teams around needs related to physical education programming.
The April 2021
School Leader Update from the Iowa Department of Education is available.
